The South Sea islanders and the Queensland labour trade, a record of voyages and experiences in the western Pacific, from 1875 to 1891

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

'

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS

AND THE

QUEENSLAND LABOUR TRADE

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS

AND THE

QUEENSLAND LABOUR TRADE

a IRecoro of Dogates anb Experiences in tbe
Western pacific, from 1875 to 1891.

BY

WILLIAM T. WAWN

MASTER MARINER

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE SAME

Eotfton
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO.

PATERNOSTER SQUARE
1893

College
Librarv

2T0 tfje

SUGAR-PLANTERS OF QUEENSLAND,
who have spent the Best Years of their Lives and

MILLIONS OF MONEY
in Developing an Industry which represents not less than

NINETY PER CENT.

of the Total Agricultural Value of that Colony ; and

which at one time bade fair to eclipse even the great

PASTORAL AND MINING INDUSTRIES

in Wealth and Importance :

BOLD PIONEERS

who have opened up the Rich Agricultural Districts along
the Coast, and have been the means of settling
THOUSANDS OF EUROPEANS

on the Land ;

and who have done more towards the
PRACTICAL CIVILIZATION

of the

CANNIBAL AND THE SAVAGE

than all the Well-intentioned but Narrow-minded Enthusiasts of the
SOUTHERN PACIFIC :

2T0 those

GOOD MEN AND TRUE

who, after a QUARTER OF A CENTURY of Hard Work and
Doubtful Prosperity, have been Basely Betrayed, and

UNSCRUPULOUSLY SACRIFICED

to the Greed of the Political Place-hunter and the
Howling Ignorance which follows in his train, —

I DEDICATE
THIS WORK WITH MUCH SVMPATHY AND RESPECT.

THE AUTHOR.

1221877

INTRODUCTION.

THE Author of this volume being now in Australia, and so not
available for immediate reference, it has been deemed desirable
to preface his work with a few explanatory remarks. These
are more particularly addressed to English readers.

Among political controversies in the Colony of Queensland,
the " Kanaka Question " held a prominent place for many years,
becoming at length of almost supreme importance. Along the
coast, more especially of Northern Queensland, there stretches
a belt of country adapted for the cultivation of tropical pro-
ducts, chief among them being the sugar-cane. To develop the
resources of this region it was necessary to find a class of
labourers better able to endure the climate than Europeans, as
well as to work at a cheaper rate. Thus arose the demand for
labourers brought from the various island groups of the Western
Pacific — Papuans and Polynesians, loosely termed " Kanakas."

Captain Wawn was engaged in recruiting such labourers, from
1875, when they were first introduced, down to 1891, when the
Queensland Government legislated against the importation of
Kanakas into the Colony, and their employment there. His
narrative is that of a practical man, than whom none could
be better acquainted with the subject he treats of. He has
recorded much that is interesting relative to numerous little-
known islands, and the tale he has to tell may well be regarded
as a valuable contribution to the history of Queensland and the
Western Pacific.

It was while the labour controversy was at its height in
Queensland, that Captain Wawn sent his manuscript to England
for publication. Forwarded on board the ill-fated S.S. Quctta,

x INTRODUCTION.

it was lost in the wreck of that vessel. By the time that the
Author had re-written his narrative, bringing it down to a later
date, the political situation in the Colony had changed. The
Kanaka Question had passed out of the region of debate, and
the abolition of " the Labour Trade " had become an accom-
plished fact.

Under these circumstances it was thought desirable to make
some alteration in the original plan of the work. Much contro-
versial matter had been gathered into it for which the occasion
had passed. Written as the " log " of a practical seaman, details
were also contained in it that were only suitable for inclusion
in a Nautical Directory. These features, it was felt, might be
dispensed with, and the whole remodelled into a less tedious
and more attractive form.

The manuscript was therefore entrusted to Mr. W. Delisle
Hay, whose experience of revisionary work has been consider-
able. At his hands such reduction was made as has been just
indicated, and the whole narrative carefully re-shaped. No
alteration of the text here given was attempted, except of a
purely literary kind ; the most scrupulous care having been
taken to preserve Captain Wavvn's own words and to present
his views without material change or any substitution. The
illustrations have been reproduced from the Author's own
sketches, and the maps, supplied by Messrs W. and A. K. John-
ston, have been conformed to Captain Wawn's charts.

SWAN SONNENSCHEIN & CO.
LONDON,

September, 1893.

CONTE NTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

THE FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875 i

CHAPTER II.
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875 (concluded} ... 40

CHAPTER III.
SECOND VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875 .... 54

CHAPTER IV.
THIRD VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875-6 ... 66

CHAPTER V.

FOURTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1876 . . . -83

CHAPTER VI.
FIFTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1876 ..... 100

CHAPTER VII.

SIXTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1876-7 . 109

CHAPTER VIII.
LAST VOYAGE OF THE BOKTAIL NAG . . .119

xii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.
SHIPWRECKED ON VILA ISLAND, 1878 138

PAGE

CHAPTER X.
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STORMBIRD, 1878 . . . -155

CHAPTER XI.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE STORMBIRD, 1878-9 . . . .171

CHAPTER XII.

VOYAGES OF THE LUCY AND ADELAIDE, 1879 . . .187

CHAPTER XIII.
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE JABBERWOCK, 1880 .... 195

CHAPTER XIV.
SEVENTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1881 . . . . 215

CHAPTER XV.

EIGHTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1881 . . . .242

CHAPTER XVI.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE JABBERWOCK, 1882 . . . .251

CHAPTER XVII.
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE FANNY, 1882-3 ..... 264

CHAPTER XVIII.
SECOND VOYAGE OF THE FANNY, 1883 279

CHAPTER XIX.
FIRST VOYAGE OF THE LIZZIE, 1883-4 309

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XX.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE LIZZIE, 1884 325

PAGE

CHAPTER XXI.
VOYAGE OF THE HEATH, 1884 ...... 339

CHAPTER XXII.
THE CRUISE OF THE VICTORIA, 1885 359

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE CRUISE OF THE VICTORIA (continued] .... 379

CHAPTER XXIV.
VOYAGE OF THE ARIEL, 1888 ....... 400

CHAPTER XXV.
VOYAGE OF THE BOROUGH BELLE, 1890-91 .... 423

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

RECRUITING AT MANNO Kwoi, MALAYTA I. ... Frontispiece

RECRUITS' QUARTERS IN A LABOUR SHIP 4

WALPOLE 1 6

RECRUITING BOAT 9

RECRUITING u

BOLTING 12

RETURNED FROM ABROAD 18

MAN OF THE NEW HEBRIDES 19

HEAD-DRESS OF TANNA MAN 20

Bows AND ARROWS— PENTECOST 1 22

STONE ADZE .24

ROASTING A BOMBSHELL 26

LANDING RETURNS 29

YAMS, TARO, BREAD-FRUIT 33, 34

ATTACK AT NAROVOROVO 37

A RUNAWAY HUSBAND 39

THE DOCTOR'S INSPECTION 52

DRUMS IN THE "SING-SING" GROUND 59

WEAPONS — NEW HEBRIDES 64

A HOT CORNER 74

A MALLICOLO ISLANDER 77

CARVED POSTS AT ARAMBAGH 80

SHOOTING FISH — ESPIRITU SANTO 1 86

IN A TIGHT PLACE 92

PUCK 117

WRECK OF THE BOBTAIL NAG 133

MARY BETARRI 175

A BATHE INTERRUPTED 177

TATTOOED WOMAN OF TANNA 198

SAU AND NINA 202

KING BERRY 219

A COPRA STATION . . 220

xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

HUSKING AND SCRAPING COCOANUTS 221

COCOANUT-OIL STATION 222

SEPULCHRE — ISABEL I. 228

A STRANGE DERELICT 230

A LAGOON HARBOUR— MALAYTA 1 233

TOUCHING NOSES 237

WAR CANOE — SOLOMON Is. 239

WEAPONS — SOLOMON Is 241

MANDOLIANNA I. 245

"WHAT FOR YOU TRAID?" 258

WOMEN BOLTING 262

SPEARING FISH BY TORCHLIGHT 278

WEAPONS— BLANCHE BAY 283

HOUSES AND NATIVES— BLANCHE BAY 284

OUTRIGGER CANOE— NEW BRITAIN 285

A CATAMARAN— NEW IRELAND 296

FISHING-NETS — LOUISIADE ARCHIPELAGO 316

NATIVE HOUSES 318

MT. RATTLESNAKE— SUDEST 1 319

FISHING 327

FISH-HOOKS— SOLOMON Is 338

RECRUITS 356

POLYNESIAN WOMEN IN QUEENSLAND 398

WOMAN OF LORD HOWE 1 410

FISHING AT ALITE BAY 413

AN ATTAR BELLE— MALAYTA 1 417

A HEAD-COFFIN 422

MBOLI HARBOUR, FLORIDA Is 429

VILLAGE AT MARAU SOUND, GUADALCANAR 1 435

MRS. ROBINSON'S PUPILS 437

FINIS.

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

CHAPTER I.

THE FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875.

/ arrive at Sydney — The James Birnie massacre — Appointed to
the Stanley — Preparations for a recruitingvoyage — Sail from
Maryborough, ity^—Fraser L— Arrival at Mare I.— The
Loyalty Group — Races of the South Pacific— Missionary
work — To Tanna 1. — System of recruiting— Goods for island
traffic— Firearms — Customary presents — Buying slaves— Re-
futation of the slander— Misuse of words " buy," " sell" and
"steal" — Reflections on kidnapping— Tanna I.— A storm —
Mode of engaging recruits— Exchange and barter— The "guile-
less " native — Missionaries and recruiters — War between
Catholic and Protestant converts — The returned labourer —
The Neiv Hebrideans — Languages — Dress — Productions —
Curious land sale — Poisoned arrows — British colonization
stopped by Exeter Hall— How the French stepped in— Bom-
bardment of Tanna I. — Incident of the shell — Kava, the native
intoxicant — Curious superstition — Niu's clothes — Falsely
accused by a missionary — Erromanga I. — Massacres — Chris-
tianity or smallpox! — Murder of the Gordons— •" Devil
country "—Apt I.— Yams, taro, and breadfruit— A shot from
the shore — Paama I. — Ambry m I. — Narovorovo — Attack on
a bathing party— Flight of the enemy— Port Sandzvich, Malli-
colo I. — Volcanoes.

IN the beginning of 1875 I arrived at Sydney, New
South Wales, in command of the schooner Flora, from
Samoa and Fiji, after spending five years among the
islands of the South- Western Pacific. During that period
I had been some time afloat as master or mate, more often
ashore, living amongst the natives as a trader. I had

B

2 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

visited New Caledonia, the Loyalty, New Hebrides,
Samoa, Fiji, Caroline, Marshall and Gilbert groups. I
had also gone through a short but adventurous experience
along the shores of New Britain and Duke of York I.
The Flora was sold to another firm after discharging
cargo, and fitted out for the Queensland Polynesian
labour trade under the command of Captain Mackay,
and I was thrown out of employment.

At this time the second mate of the brig James Birnie
was in Sydney. This vessel had sailed during the pre-
vious year under the command of Captain Fletcher to
collect becke-de-mer * amongst the South Sea Islands.
Captain Fletcher's idea of savage character appears to
have been founded on the mistake that, if you treat a
savage kindly, he will therefore behave well to you.
At the Mortlock or Lord Howe Is., a huge atoll lying
north-east of the Solomon group, the ship was an-
chored within the lagoon, and several stations for col-
lecting and curing beche-de-mer were formed on the
numerous islets scattered along the encircling reef. The
chief and his subjects professed the greatest friendliness
towards the strangers, and deceived Fletcher so far that
the latter forbade his men to carry firearms.

The natural consequence was that the captain and most
of the crew were massacred, and the ship was plundered
and burnt. The second mate, who had sense enough to
carry his revolver concealed about him, and some five
or six Polynesians, natives of other islands, escaped in an
open boat and made for the Solomon group, whence
they got a passage to Sydney.

One of Her Majesty's ships afterwards visited the
place, but recovered nothing, though she gave the natives
a severe lesson as to their future behaviour towards

* Beche-de-mer, also called trepang or tripang, is a large marine slug,
inhabiting coral reefs. Its scientific name is Holothuria edulis. It is
collected, cured, and sent to the Chinese markets, where it fetches a
high price, being highly esteemed by Chinese epicures.

APPOINTED TO THE "STANLEYS 3

white men. The good effects of this action I ex-
perienced thirteen years later, when I visited the
Mortlocks in the Ariel, rescued a white castaway, and
recruited some of the inhabitants. Would that all our
ships of war acted as promptly in our defence ! I am
happy to say that no Queensland labour vessel had before
this time visited the Mortlock group, so that the cause of
the James Birnie massacre cannot be laid to our charge.
I mention this because, all through my experience of the
labour trade, it has been the fashion to lay the blame on
us for all South Sea Island outrages.

Through the good offices of the late owner of the
Flora, and in consequence of my varied experience in the
South Pacific, I was not long out of a berth. On Feb. 19
I took charge, as master, of the schooner Stanley, 1 1 5 tons
register. Built at Granton, Scotland, she was a handy,
weatherly vessel, admirably suited for South Sea work.
Having had her re-caulked, coppered, and fitted with two
suitable boats and davits, I took in cargo, and sailed for
Maryborough, Queensland. H.M.S. Alacrity went to
sea at the same time, bound for the islands. She was one
of the schooners built or purchased in Australia, employed
as cruisers among the islands to suppress kidnapping — a
crime very common before Fiji was annexed.

At Maryborough I discharged my cargo, and the
Stanley was fitted with a lower deck on top of her iron
ballast, two long shelves or bunks, six feet wide, extend-
ing the whole length of the hold, as sleeping quarters for
the expected recruits. A bulkhead of four-inch wooden
battens, at a like distance apart, divided the whole space
into two unequal parts, the after one, to which there was
admission by the outer hatch only, being reserved for
females.

On May 12 we were ready for sea. The hull and
rigging had been examined by the shipping inspector of
the port, who had also measured the hold to determine
how many recruits the vessel should be licensed to carry.

4 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The immigration agent had seen that the accommodation
was satisfactory, and that there were sufficient provisions,
clothing for recruits, and blankets on board. I had
signed a bond for ^500 as a guarantee against kidnap-
ping. A Government agent (generally styled the
" G. A.") was appointed, and a licence to recruit and
carry not more than 109 Polynesian labourers was issued
to us.

Besides the G. A., I had three passengers, all friends
of the owners. One, generally known as " Cades,"
having had some experience of the islands, was to engage
the natives on shore, and sailed as recruiting agent. A

RECRUITS' QUARTERS IN A LABOUR SHIP.

second was the Doctor, while the third, whom we called
" Cash," had nothing to do but amuse himself and others.
There were also seven natives of Erromanea, labourers

o *

returning home after three years' service, ^"3 per head
having been paid by their late employers for their pas-
sage. At this time, if a "boy" did not return home
when his first service expired, he lost the opportunity of
having his passage paid by his late employer. Subse-
quently, on the arrival of a labourer, his first employer
had to pay ^5 to the Government to cover a return
passage. If a labourer died in Queensland, the Govern-
ment did not refund that £.

FRASER ISLAND. 5

Cabin stores were liberally provided, especially all sorts
of liquors, from champagne down to " square gin " and
schnapps. A dinner at the " Royal," given by the owner
to the cabin party and other friends, and a " drunk " and
free fight " forward " among the hands, took place on
the eve of departure, and, before heads were level, the
schooner was dropping down the river Mary in charge
of Pilot Minnahin.

Opposite the mouth of the Mary, and parallel with the
coast line, lies Eraser I., long and low, remarkable only
for its sterility. There is abundance of fresh water, how-
ever, and the island is used as a reserve for the few
aboriginals of the district, whom ' ' rum and civilization "
have not yet killed off. This island was named after
Captain Eraser, who was wrecked on it and lost his life
there. His two children, girls, were rescued from the
blacks in the early days of Maryborough.

At Fraser I. we lay off the White Cliffs for three days,
taking in water and firewood. As soon as the tanks were
filled and the vacant space between the bunks and the
lower deck stocked with good split logs of she-oak for
firewood, the anchor was hove up for good, and the
schooner headed northward in order to reach the open
ocean round Breaksea Spit, beyond the northern point of
the island.

The first week of the voyage was spent in beating
against a strong south-easterly breeze, taking advantage
of the steady southerly current which runs along the coast
from here to Cape Howe. A little to the southward of
Cape Moreton, the breeze died away, and was followed
by a fresh westerly wind, which gave us a splendid run
to the reefs off the south-east end of New Caledonia, and
thence past Walpole I. to North Bay, Mare I., one of the
Loyalty group, a dependency of the French colony of
New Caledonia. Here we lay two days, engaging as
boatmen four strapping natives of the island, whom we
agreed to re-land on our way home.

6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Near our anchorage was the English mission station,
in charge of the Rev. Mr. Jones, a gentleman respected
and liked by all who came in contact with him. He was
one of the few of his calling who attended to his own
affairs, and did not, without good cause, interfere with his
neighbours.

A native of Mare, whom I had shipped in Mary-
borough as boatman for the voyage, attempted to desert
here, probably influenced by his friends on shore. I had
some difficulty in getting him back to the beach and on
board, after discovering him concealed in a hut about a
mile inland. However, I offered a reward for his appre-

WALPOLE I.

hension, not payable until he was safe on board ; so
interested parties helped me, and he went the voyage
with me until our return.

The Loyalties are of coral formation, almost flat on the
top, with deep water all round. Uea I. has a vast extent
of shoal water on its northern side. Mare and Lifu,
with the intervening islets, have been raised by volcanic
agency to the height of 1 50 feet above the sea. But Uea
is much less elevated. These islands are densely wooded,
but are not considered fertile, owing to the absence of
volcanic soil.

Walpole I., 75 miles south-east, is of the same forma-
tion. It is 230 feet high, very precipitous, with deep
water all round, and is covered with brushwood. It is

RACES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC. 7

the haunt of thousands of sea-birds. The Loyalty Island-
ers are, I think, mostly of Papuan descent, but with a
strain of the true Polynesian.

Touching on this subject, I may explain here that
there are three races native to the South Pacific.
The Papuan, or Negrito, distinguished by black, or
nearly black, skin and "kinky" wool, is found, more
or less pure, in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archi-
pelago, the Solomon, Santa Cruz, New Hebrides,
and Loyalty groups, New Caledonia, and to a small
extent in Fiji. The true Polynesian, having a brown
skin and frizzly hair, is found in New Zealand, Tonga,
Fiji, Samoa, and elsewhere to the east and north. The
Malay race, with brown skin and straight black hair,
is spread over the Equatorial islands, namely, the
Caroline, Marshall, Gilbert, and Ellice groups. There
is, of course, some admixture where these races have
come in contact with each other.

At the time I am writing of, I believe all the inhabi-
tants of the Loyalties had adopted the Christian religion,
two-thirds, at least, being Protestants. But what they
are now I cannot say, both the Revs. Jones and
Macfarlane (of Lifu I.) having been forced to leave these
islands on account of the machinations of the French
priests. An attempt had been previously made, in
1872, to oust these missionaries, but the late Emperor
Napoleon prevented it. He would not permit such
intolerance in religious matters.

The men, especially those of Mare, make good sailors
and boatmen, and are in great request among traders and
whalers. As swimmers and divers they stand in the
foremost rank, even among South Sea Islanders The
native dress — a span breadth of banana leaf or bark for
the man, and a grass petticoat, or fringe, for the woman-
is rapidly giving way to European styles. Their food
consists of fish, occasionally turtle and pork, yam, taro,
and cocoanut.

8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

From Mare to Tanna I., New Hebrides, occupied
us a day, and recruiting, or at least, an attempt to
recruit, commenced near Black Beach, a well-known
anchorage on the lee side of the island. In these
latitudes — the region of the south-east trade winds — the
" lee side " signifies the north and west coasts. The
south and east constitute the weather side.

Up to this time it had not become necessary to employ
a covering boat to lie off at a little distance, so as to
protect the recruiting boat when along shore. After
this voyage I always adopted the plan which, though a
most necessary precaution, was not officially enjoined
until some years later, and even then it was frequently
neglected.

Our boats, two in number, were each pulled by four
islanders, having a mast stepped well forward when
required, and a standing or " Spanish " lug-sail, the
handiest rig with an island crew. The white man in
charge used an eighteen-foot steering oar generally, but
rudders and tillers were provided in case of running any
considerable distance under sail in a sea-way. Each
native boatman was armed with a smooth-bore musket,
cut short so as to lie fore and aft on the beat's thwarts
under the gunwale, to which was nailed a long strip of
canvas, painted, and hanging down to protect the arms
from the salt spray. The whites — the recruiter in one
boat, and the mate and G.A. in the other — had re-
volvers and Snider carbines. The smooth-bores of the
boatmen were, a few years later, changed for Snider
carbines, and the whites generally adopted the Win-
chester. Each boat carried a " trade box," containing
about a dozen pounds of twist tobacco, two dozen short
clay pipes, half a dozen pounds of gunpowder in quarter,
half, and one pound flasks, some boxes of military
percussion caps, a bag of small coloured beads, a few
fathoms of cheap print calico, a piece (twelve yards) of
Turkey red twill, half a dozen large knives, with blades

GOODS FOR ISLAND TRAFFIC. 9

sixteen or eighteen inches long, the same number of
smaller knives, half a dozen fantail tomahawks, a few
Jews'-harps, mirrors, fish-hooks, and other trifles. Paint
was then in frequent demand. For this we provided a
tin canister of vermilion powder and some balls of
Reckitt's washing blue. On the thwarts amidships,
along with the mast and sail, lay three or four Brown
Bess muskets in a painted canvas bag ; good serviceable
weapons, despite their age. The cheap German fowling-
piece, however bright and new, was of no use to us.
Tanna men, especially, were very particular about the

RECRUITING BOAT.

guns having " TOWER " on the locks. They knew
that these would bear a big charge. I have seen a
Tanna man load one with powder enough for three
charges, and ball on top, fire it off, and, when the gun
kicked him over on his back, jump up again and shout,
" Remassan ! Remassan ! — Good! Good!" He would
buy that gun, and think he had the best of the bargain
by a long way. But a Tanna man would not look at a
smooth-bore now. Nothing, nowadays, will go down
with him but a repeating rifle.

Those Brown Besses were intended as presents to the
recruits' friends. We were not frequently called upon
to give guns then, and one gun would satisfy two or three

io THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

parties. A knife and a tomahawk, a handful of beads,
ten sticks or about half a pound of tobacco, a few pipes,
and a fathom of calico, were considered sufficient for
man or woman. But the demand for firearms was
rapidly increasing, and, two years after this, I had to
give a musket, as well as tobacco and pipes, before a
man was allowed to leave the beach.

This custom of making presents to recruits' friends
has been eagerly seized upon by our opponents as proof
that we really bought the recruits — that the latter were
simply slaves, probably captured in war ; which is simply
absurd. New Hebrideans never spare their enemies in
battle, or make prisoners of the men. Slavery is un-
known to them ; they are not yet sufficiently advanced
to appreciate it. The theory that recruits are sold by
their chiefs might be true to a certain extent, were it not
that the power of the chiefs in these islands is extremely
limited, far more so than it is among Polynesians, as in
Samoa and elsewhere. But here each village constitutes
a tribe, possessing its own chief, whose territory is
measured by yards, not by miles.

The fighting power of a New Hebridean tribe is
rarely more than twenty to eighty men. Consequently,
if a warrior elects to go to Queensland, his departure is
felt as a serious loss, to make up for which it is only
natural that the tribe should require a musket, powder,
and ball. Besides, you will get no article or service
from a South Sea Islander without paying for it. Your
necessity is his opportunity. To take a recruit in the
presence of his friends without " paying" for him, how-
ever willing to go he might be himself, would be, at any
rate, extremely dangerous.

Owing to their limited knowledge of the English
language, such terms as " buy," " sell," and " steal," have
a wide and comprehensive meaning. " You buy boy ?"
is often the first question asked of the recruiter when he
arrives at a landing-place. This simply means, " Do

BUYING AND STEALING.

1 1

you wish to engage boys ? " " Boys," as elsewhere,
signifies men of any age. The term " steal " is also
frequently misunderstood. If you take away a recruit
from his home without "buying" or "paying" for him,—
that is, without making presents to his friends to com-
pensate them for losing him, — they will say you " steal ''
him.

In 1879 a woman, Betarri, came on board the Storm-
bird on her own account, and was engaged. Owing to
subsequent events no present or " pay " was sent on
shore. She afterwards told the wife of her employer,

RECRUITING.

Mr. Monckton, of Narada plantation, Maryborough, that
" Captain he steal me," which the lady of course inter-
preted literally.

When it could be done conveniently and with safety,
I have generally sent the " pay " ashore to the friends of
any recruit who has joined my ship without their con-
sent. Some "boys," who have already served one term
of three years in Queensland, are, however, too knowing
for their countrymen, and make a bargain for money on
arrival in port, varying from 10^. to £2. These have to
get away quietly, of course, and they are said to be

12 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

"stolen." By sending the pay for a runaway recruit on
shore, any danger to the next comer will probably be
averted.

This free use of the term " steal " amongst the
islanders accounts for numbers of unfounded charges of
kidnapping made against us. But kidnapping has been
occasionally perpetrated in these waters, and was, even
at the time I write of.

Previous to the annexation of Fiji, in 1874, recruiters
from thence never missed an opportunity of " wooling
'em." Many a canoe was run down, and its occupants
saved, to work in Fijian cotton-fields. Australians will

remember the Carl and Daphne. In 1872, at Bonape,
in the Caroline group, I was, for a few hours, on board
the Carl, then on her most notorious cruise, and I heard
some of the crew boasting of their exploits. Even of
late years — in 1884 — we had the Hopeful case; and I
know, from personal experience, that one at least of the
prisoners in that affair richly deserved the fate meted
out to him. Apart from the immorality of such a pro-
ceeding, kidnapping would be extremely impolitic on the
part of a recruiter who expected to be engaged for any
length of time in the labour trade. One case of kid-
napping would spoil the captain's, the recruiter's, and
the ship's reputation on the islands, and the friends of

DISAPPOINTED AT BLACK BEACH. 13

the kidnapped man would not fail to kill the offenders at
the first opportunity.

I mentioned that, in 1875, kidnapping was still
occasionally heard of. I never witnessed it ; but,
from the reports of natives all over the New Hebrides,
I have very good reason to believe that men were
often carried off forcibly by French and Samoan
vessels, between 1875 and 1883. One could only
expect outrages to be committed by the crews of
these ; for, although the French vessels carried an officer
whose duties were similar to those of our Government
agents, I never saw one of them accompany his boats to
the shore. The French boats were invariably manned
and officered by Polynesians only. As for vessels out
of Samoa, I may cite the Mary Anderson by way of
illustration. She flew the British flag, was commanded
by a foreigner who held no certificate except a licence
to recruit from the British Consul at Samoa, and was
employed to collect labourers for German planters.
This vessel carried no Government agent, and the
master alone had full control over the recruiting.

To return to my own voyage. The first day's attempt
at recruiting in Tanna I. resulted in disappointment.
Few natives were seen, and these were chiefly very old
men or children. The able-bodied of both sexes were
all inland attending a " Sing-sing," as their native feasts
and dances are termed in South Sea English. During
the afternoon I anchored the ship in ten fathoms of
water, about two hundred yards from shore, near the
northern end of Black Beach. A moderate breeze from
the south-east was blowing all day, with fine weather,
and I considered we were in perfect safety for the night.
But it was not so.

Just before sunset a dense black bank of cloud rose in
the south-east, over the land. Still, as the barometer
remained tolerably high and steady, I thought little of it,
merely anticipating a deluge of rain. I certainly never

14 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

expected the wind to shift from the south-east quarter
\vith a high glass. Gradually, but swiftly, two-thirds of
the sky became overcast with clouds of a dark red hue,
the north-west quarter alone remaining- bright with the
sunset glow. Then came a blinding flash of lightning
and a rattle of thunder, and seeing that I must expect
something out of the common, I had the mainsail double-
reefed and one of the boats hoisted up to the davits.
There was no time to hoist the other, which was lying
astern, for in a moment a small breeze sprang up from
the north-west. Within two minutes from its com-
mencement a hard gale was blowing from the same
quarter, accompanied by blinding rain, thunder, and
lightning. Luckily, we had good holding ground, for I
could not get under way now. The second anchor was
let go, and chain paid out on both. The gale lasted for
about an hour and a half, and veered to south, gradu-
ally dying away at south-west. By midnight we had
clear weather and the usual south-east trade wind again.
Our boat astern was swamped, but luckily uninjured.
The breeze was a small but true cyclone, travelling in a
northerly direction, a most unusual phenomenon, the only
instance I recollect of a cyclone occurring in the month
of June in these waters. The barometer, an aneroid,
fell only '20° during the cyclone.

Black Beach and its neighbourhood proving a failure,
the anchor was tripped next day, and the western shores
made for in search of recruits. Our mode of working is
as follows :—

At daybreak, if the ship is under way, she is taken
close into the land, whilst all hands have an early break-
fast. Presently the boats are lowered, and pulled or
sailed along the coast, stopping wherever natives collect,
the ship keeping as near to them as possible. Trading
for yams and other native produce, which recruits prefer
to rice, is carried on at the same time that recruits are
sought for. The recruiter's boat having been backed on

CHAFFERING WITH NATIVES. 15

to the beach stern first, the keel just touching or resting
on the sand, the savages crowd about the boat, scrutin-
izing the crew, and perhaps recognizing some old island
hand amongst them, most likely a returned labourer.
Then follows much such a conversation as this : —

Native. " What name ship ?

Recruiter. " Stanley."

N. " What name cappen ? "

R. "Cappen Wawn."

N. "Where you come from ? " i.e., What port do
you come from ?

R. " Maryborough."

N. " Mallybulla, very good." Maryborough was a
favourite place with the New Hebrideans at this time.
" You buy boy ? "

R. " Yes ; you got boy ? He like come ? "

N. " P'raps, by-and-by. You buy yam ? "

R. " Yes ; we buy yam altogether — all you have."

Now commences a noisy chaffering for yams, tobacco,
paint, beads, etc. A dozen yams, sometimes bundles
of them, are offered ; and in five minutes, if no ship has
been along that way lately, the boat is covered with soil,
and half full of yams, taro, cocoanuts, sugar-cane, now
and then a few fish, a pig or two, and some curios, such
as bows and arrows, clubs, sea-shells, and other uncon-
sidered trifles. Sometimes one has to buy a lot of things
that are not wanted, to keep the savages in good humour.

In the meantime the recruiter keeps a sharp look-out
for possible recruits. When he sees a boy give his
weapons to another, quietly slip off all his bead and shell
ornaments, and part from them, he knows that there is
luck in store for him. The conversation is renewed :—

Native. " Boy he like go."

Recruiter (trying to appear not at all eager for re-
cruits). " Um, very good. Me look him."

The intending recruit comes close to the boat for in-
spection, a friend carefully guarding him on each side,

1 6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

not so much to prevent kidnapping as to stop him from
getting into the boat before he is " paid " for, and thus
spoiling the bargain. The amount of "pay" once
settled, the recruit gets into the boat, and passes forward
into the bows. If the covering boat is on the scene, it is
backed in, and the recruit transferred to her and taken
off to the ship if convenient. The " pay " is handed over
as soon as the recruit gets into the boat. Sometimes a
boy pretends he will go, in order to get some " pay," and
after it has been handed to his friends quietly slips away
into the bush. With the same object, others go on board
ship when at anchor and desert by swimming at night.

For a long time we were allowed to apprehend and de-
tain all deserters who had signed the agreement on board
ship, but the " cast iron " regulations of the Act of 1884
put a stop to that, allowing a Kanaka to sign the agree-
ment for three years' service, travel about in the ship in
receipt of the regular rations, cadge all he could, and
leave when he thought fit, so long as he did not extend
his pleasure trip to Queensland.

If a vessel happens to return to an island during the
same trip, the chances are that she will lose a few of her
recruits obtained during the first visit. And as these
generally "flit" by night, they take care not to go empty-
handed. Guileless persons love to represent the South
Sea Islander as a grown-up child ; but he is one who
would prove a deal of trouble to his parents ! Sometimes
a " boy," whose friends are unwilling that he should
leave home, or who demand too much pay, will make a
rush and get into the boat. It is dangerous then to
interfere. The best thing to do is to let them fight it out,
unless the recruiter lends a hand to get the boy out of the
boat. For, of course, the surest way for the savages to
prevent a "boy" going away is to tomahawk the recruiter
and his crew. The trade box will probably repay them
for a little extra risk. There would be more danger of
this sort in the work of recruiting were it not that the

MISSIONARIES AND RECRUITERS. 17

natives of the New Hebrides and Solomon groups look
upon it as a regular institution, and see that it works
as much for their own benefit as for ours.

The visit of any ship to their shores is a change in the
dull monotony of their lives. They have an opportunity
of bartering their surplus food and what are curiosities to
us, in exchange for weapons, tools, tobacco, and other
desirable articles.

On the other hand, they lose a few warriors out of
each village, but an extra musket in the tribe makes up
for that deficiency. The proportion of female emigrants
is very small ; but, since polygamy prevails in these
islands, that does not matter so much. Ninety-nine out
of every hundred recruits are between the ages of sixteen
and twenty. When one returns from his three years'
service he is still a young man, in the prime of life,
strengthened and set up by his late labour, possessed of
knowledge and experience of the world which has raised
him above his stay-at-home fellows. It is this last fact
which has made some missionaries so bitter against us.
The raw, untravelled "nig" is a very pliable article in
their hands. He imagines that there must be something
supernatural about the " servant of God," and it is only
after a long acquaintance that he finds out that he is but
a poor weak mortal after all. By that time he has dis-
covered that the missionary is under the protection of
the man-of-war, as well as that if he were killed he has
nothing worth stealing. His chief succumbs, most pro-
bably, through fear and the hope of protection against
his bush enemies, and our "nig" follows suit. Sunday-
school children's pennies supply him with various knick-
knacks, and he leads a lazy, shiftless life. Dread of the
man-of-war secures him peace against his enemies, if
his house is close to the mission ; but in return he is not
allowed to thrash his wife, though she is often the worst
of the two. But I doubt if his capacity for fighting and
blood-thirstiness is lessened.

i8

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

In 1880, during the civil war which raged on Mare I.
between the Protestant and Roman Catholic natives,
these qualities came out rather conspicuously. The
wounded were invariably massacred by the victors. In-
fants were swung by the legs, and their brains dashed
out against trees and stones. Villages and plantations
were destroyed, and every cruelty was perpetrated that
the mind of a savage could invent. Yet, in the midst of
such scenes, the minds of these '"Christian" warriors
were capable of reflection ; for, during one massacre, the
Roman Catholic priest was not molested in his house,

RETURNED FROM ABROAD.

because the Protestant victors knew that they would
meet with no mercy from the authorities if they meddled
with a Frenchman.

The returned islander, however, is a very different
personage for the missionary to operate on. He has
seen the world. He does not believe in offerings to the
church in the shape of pigs, fowls, yams, or bread-fruit.
He knows how clergymen are regarded by the white
workmen with whom he has come in contact. His
experience and strength, together with his knowledge
of the English language, which last enables him always

THE NEW HEBRIDES. 19

to act as interpreter and middleman when dealing with
whites, and most likely the possession of a new rifle,
whether brought from Queensland or purchased in the
island, combine to give him a prominent position in his
tribe. The young, untravelled men listen to his stories
of Queensland, and follow his example in many ways.
So the missionary finds him a terrible stumbling-block
in his path.

The New Hebrides group, which includes the Torres
and Banks Is., forms a chain of about a dozen large islands,
and double that number of smaller ones, all inhabited
and fertile, extending 500 miles, from latitude 20° 15' S
to 13° S. With the exception of the Torres Is. at the

MKN OF THE NEW HEBRIDES.

north-west end, and of Aniwa near the south-east, which
are of elevated coral formation, they are all volcanic and
mountainous, richly fertile, generally covered with dense-
forests, and unhealthy for Europeans, fever and ague
being especially prevalent. The inhabitants are of the
Papuan race, intermixed here and there with the true
Polynesian, notably in Aoba and the Banks and Torres
Is. Their language varies considerably, so much so
that a New Hebridean has often a difficulty in making
himself understood a dozen miles from his own home,
even in the same island.

20 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

In Tanna I. three distinct dialects are spoken, and in
Pentecost I. there is a marked difference between the
languages at either end, only thirty miles apart. In
1875, tne people were all cannibals, except in Aneiteum,
Fotuna, Aniwa, and Mota, where missionary influence was
supreme. Dress does not trouble these savages much.
In Tanna and its neighbour islands, in parts where the
missionaries have not prevailed upon them to adopt the
waist-cloth or a more European style of dress, the men
appear simply more disgusting than if they contented
themselves with nothing at all. The women wear a
kilt or short petticoat of grass or leaves.

HEAD-DRESS OF TANNA MAN.

On Sandwich I. and the Shepherd Is. a mat round
the loins and a loose calico cloth depending from it
serves the men, while further north a bunch of leaves
or even a single leaf suffices. Sometimes they dispense
even with this. The women generally tie a strip of mat
or of banana leaf round their waists, occasionally a
bunch of leaves only. Tanna men dress their hair in a
peculiar manner. Each separate lock of their kinky
wool is drawn out to full length, generally about a
foot, and served round with very fine strips of white
bark, which prevents it from curling up again. On the
northern islands the women often, if not generally,
shave their heads.

A CURIOUS LAND SALE. 21

We have always made it a practice to cut off recruits'
hair close to the head, invariably finding it tightly
matted with earth and lime, and full of certain insects.
The " boys " always appeared relieved after the opera-
tion, but it was then necessary to provide them with
calico turbans to protect their heads from cold or sun-
stroke. Native dwellings, as a rule, are simply low,
miserable hovels of palm leaves and grass. Of vegetable
food they have an abundance. Yam and taro form the
staple articles, besides which they have the sweet yam
or ufelai, sweet potatoes, cocoanut, a great variety of
edible nuts, and fruits which I cannot name, bread-fruit
of rather a poor description as compared with that of
the Carolines, bananas and sugar-cane. Each village
possesses a good number of pigs — half head and legs —
and fowls. Dogs — miserable curs — abound everywhere,
and form an article of food, though, I am told, it is only
the women who indulge in that savoury dish.

I encountered rather a curious circumstance in con-
nection with the sale and purchase of land in the island
of Tanna, during 1870. A white man named Thomas
Davis, resident at Port Resolution, purchased a piece
of ground from a native and paid for it. In order to get
room to put up a building, he cut down a tree. The
seller of the land complained, and Davis discovered that
his bargain did not include the trees growing on the
land. He had to pay more for them before he was
allowed to clear his property.

The New Hebrideans, as a rule, do not travel much
by water. Very seldom we met with an ungainly craft,
half canoe, half raft, with an unwieldy triangular mat-
sail, bowling along before a fair wind.

The villagers on the coasts have plenty of small canoes
however, from seven to ten feet long, hollowed out of
the solid log, and provided with a light outrigger, in
which they venture out a mile or two to sea to visit
passing ships. Arms of native manufacture, with the

22 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

exception of spears, had almost disappeared from Tanna
by 1870. Bows and arrows had been superseded by
muskets, wooden and stone clubs by " fantail " toma-
hawks and long sixteen-inch knives. Every Tanna-man
owned a musket or two. Further north most of the men
carried poisoned spears and arrows, also a tough four-
foot bow. One scratch from a poisoned arrow is suffi-
cient to cause death almost invariably. The arrow, or
spear-head, is prepared by dipping the bone point into
decomposing flesh — human flesh being regarded as the
best for the purpose — and allowing it to dry. Two or
three coats are necessary. On the islands of Aurora

1. HEAD OF POISONED ARROW, PENTECOST I.

2. BOW AND ARROWS, PENTECOST I.

and Pentecost, they point out a small straggling tree,
very common on the coasts, which is said to contribute
to the deadly qualities of their arrows. A thick, milky,
sticky sap' exudes from the bark when cut, which they
handle very carefully, being especially cautious not to
let it get into their eyes or into open wounds. This sap
is used in preparing the poisoned arrows, perhaps to
assist the decayed animal matter to adhere. The shafts
of the arrows are of light cane, and no feathers are
attached to the butts. Bows, especially on Pentecost
and Aurora Is., exhibit no regular curve when strung for
use. The greatest " belly," as sailors would call it, is
about two-fifths from the end. The small bone tip is

BRITISH COLONIZATION. 23

only insecurely fastened to the shaft, so that it may be
left inside when the arrow is withdrawn from the wound.
The wound may heal up, but even when the bone tip
has been extracted, tetanus supervenes within three
weeks after the injury.

The island of Tanna is remarkably fertile, rising to a
height of over 3,000 feet in the south. Near Port
Resolution, on the eastern side, there is an active volcano,
the crater of which is about six hundred feet above sea-
level. There are two fairly good anchorages, safe enough
during the trade-wind season ; namely, Waisissa, a few
miles north-west from Port Resolution, with nine to
twelve fathoms, and Black Beach on the north-west side,
with eight to fourteen fathoms of water ; but both are
open roadsteads. There is a stream of good fresh
water at the latter place. In 1870 the beach was banked
up throughout its whole length, forming a large lagoon,
with about fifty yards intervening between it and the sea.
By 1875 the stream had broken through the bank and
was rather shallow, but was still convenient for watering.
With the wind well to the eastward there is anchorage
in eighteen fathoms close in at Sangali. Port Resolution
was ruined as a harbour by an earthquake at the end of
1877. Five years before the time of which I write,
Tanna was in a fair way to be colonized by British
settlers, but missionary jealousy and Exeter Hall in-
fluence stepped in and spoiled all.

From Emolau Point, a little south of Sangali, to Black
Beach, nearly fifteen miles of coast and a mile or so back
from it, the land was purchased by British subjects with
the intention of settling on it and growing cotton. Three
plantations — those of McLeod at I bet, of Bell Brothers
at Worgus, and of Ross Lewin at Sangali — had land
cleared and cotton growing, Lewin having already-
gathered and shipped one cargo. These men employed
labourers from other islands of the group, for it is an
established fact that the New I lebridean men object to

24 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

work, and certainly will not become regular labourers on
their own islands. The women do all their own planta-
tion work. But they make good enough labourers when
transported among strangers. Then they become de-
pendent on their employer for food, pay, and means of
returning home, also acting as a protection against the
treachery of the native inhabitants. The Tanna people
made no objection to the presence of these labourers,
refusing to harbour them when they were inclined to
shirk their work and leave their employers ; being aware
that if the white settlers lost their labourers, then the

STONE ADZE, BANKS I.

market for the surplus food supply of the island would
necessarily fail.

However, the planter's influence might impair that of
the missionary ; wherefore representations were made to
the home government through the captain of one of our
ships of war, and all British subjects in these waters were
ordered to return labourers to their homes and employ
only the natives of the particular island on which they
were located. The consequence was that these planta-
tions were all abandoned, though not until one of the
Bells and Ross Lewin had been murdered. Of course
this influence of Exeter Hall did not extend over the
settlers of other nationalities, so many of the British sub-
jects in the New 'Hebrides transferred their allegiance to

HO IV THE FRENCH STEPPED IN. 25

France, and thus the trade of these islands was directed
to Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, In place of
the British colonists, who might have settled on these
islands, the group is now full of a lot of the sweepings of
the French penal colony. A large company — the Com-
pagnie Caledonienne des Nouvelles Hebrides — was formed
in 1882, and now owns all the most desirable lands in
the group. Its stone boundary-marks may be seen at
every anchorage and bay, while there is hardly a good
bit of water frontage left for any future settler to select.

Of late years the missionaries have several times
stirred up the Australian people to agitate for annexa-
tion of the New Hebrides to the British Empire : but it
is too late now. The French have a joint protectorate
over the group with Great Britain. They own all the
best land and have all the best trade in their hands.
They have the best right to those islands. Once we had
it, but we have lost it.

The south-west coast of Tanna gave us a few recruits,
and then I steered for Port Resolution, where I anchored
in the middle of the harbour. At that time it was a
smooth and safe anchorage during the trade- winds, but in
1877 an earthquake occurred, which raised the north-
west side of the port, and shoaled it so much that it is
now suitable only for the smallest vessels. I anchored
there in 1880 in the Jabberwock, but I had auxiliary
steam-power, or I should not have attempted it.

A Presbyterian mission station, in charge of the
Rev. Mr. Neilson, was situated on the south-east side.
On the opposite shore is the shelf of rock to which Cap-
tain Cook hove down his ship, the Resolution. The iron
ring he used on that occasion disappeared long ago, for
the natives dug the bolt which held it out of the rock, in
order to get the cementing lead to make bullets. In
1870 there was a trading station on the north-west side,
where Captain Ashmore, of the Sea ll'itck schooner,
placed an agent to purchase sulphur, which natives

26 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

brought down from the volcano. The mission had been
established for many years, but there were no converts
in my time. H.M.S. Curafoa made it lively for the
natives in 1867. For some wrong done to the mission-
aries— driving them away, I believe — she shelled the
native village and landed her marines and blue-jackets.
Each side lost only one man, according to the natives.
However, after the Curafoa had sailed, the Tanna men,
searching about for broken shells, found an unex-
ploded one nearly buried in an earthen bank near the
head of the bay. This was their first experience of shells,
and they wanted to find out the contents. One of them

ROASTING A BOMBSHELL.

had travelled, and knew that white men rendered iron
soft enough to be cut by putting it in fire. The result
of their experiment was disastrous. Nine of them de-
rived no benefit from it. An old Tanna man told me
this story, and I quite believed it.

The mission schooner Dayspring came to an anchor
here the day after we arrived. On board were some
passengers, natives of Tanna, who had been granted a
passage in her to and from the neighbouring island of
Fotuna. These men now went on shore, and I was
rather surprised to see several large roots of kava ac-
company them. I should have thought that a missionary
vessel would have been forbidden to carry such an article.

KA VA-DRINKING. 27

The kava is a species of pepper, called Macropiper
methysticum by botanists. It grows as a straggling
bush with jointed, crooked branches, and leaves as large
as the palm of my hand. From the root an intoxicating
drink is made. The mode of preparing this drink is
simply disgusting. The root is washed, chopped into
small pieces, and then chewed. In the large groups to
the eastward, young girls alone perform this operation,
but in the New Hebrides the men do it for themselves.
After having been well masticated, the root is mixed
with sufficient water in large wooden bowls, and is then
fit for use. In the Caroline group alone, the root, well
washed and scraped, is pounded upon large flat stones,
mixed with water, and filtered through a fine, fibrous
bark. So prepared, I have often drunk it. A taste for
it is soon acquired, though at first it reminds one of a
mixture of soap-suds with a dash of pepper. It has a
very different effect from alcohol. It is soothing, and a
pint of strong kava, or even half that quantity for a be-
ginner, will apparently have no more effect than to make
a man feel desirous of being let alone and allowed to sit
quietly and smoke his pipe. It is when he gets up to
walk that he feels the effects. When his knees give
way, he discovers that kava acts in contrary fashion to
alcohol. The latter first affects the head, but kava
goes to a man's legs at once. Alcohol excites, kava
soothes, and then stupefies.

Tanna women are not allowed to indulge in kava, or
even to see men drinking it. When I first visited this
island in 1870, I noticed that, just before sundown, the
women and children disappeared from the beaches, and
their voices were not to be heard anywhere. I was told
that the reason for this was because the men prepared
and drank kava at that hour ; and if any unfortunate
woman happened to see a man under its influence, she
would be immediately clubbed.

Before leaving Tanna I must mentions peculiar form

28 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of superstition which has often occasioned embarrass-
ment, if no worse, to the unsophisticated white man
trading with the natives. They imagine that if an
enemy, especially if he is one of their own " bushmen,"
gets hold of a portion of any article belonging to one of
them — say a part of a stick of tobacco, or the peel of
a banana — he can work the owner of it some ill, such as
causing sickness or even death. Consequently, when
buying anything from a Tanna man for tobacco, he will
never receive a piece of a stick unless a fellow-tribesman
receives the remaining moiety. When eating a yam or
banana, he will always bury or secretly make away with
the skin, or any portion that he or his friends do not
consume.

I weighed anchor and left Port Resolution on a Sunday
mornino- running- down to Aniwa, a small island about

o7 o

twelve miles to the north, where I kept the ship " dodg-
ing " under the lee, there being no anchorage, whilst the
boats visited the shore. A mission station had been
established here two or three years before this, I believe ;
but the missionary was then absent on board the Day-
spring, so our party did not visit his residence. A for-
mer chief of Port Resolution was living on the island
with a few of his followers, one of whom we recruited.
Old Maiaki had been a big chief in Port Resolution
when I knew him five years before ; but his reign was
over now, and he was an outlaw.

Another recruit w« obtained here was a native of the
island. This boy, whose name was Niu, had served the
missionary for some time as a house servant. When his
employer went away on his present trip, he locked his
kitchen door, some of Niu's clothes being left inside.
After Niu's departure in the Stanley, the boy's relatives,
knowing that his clothes were there, broke into the
kitchen, abstracted them, and told the missionary, on his
return, that the crew of the Stanley were the burglars.
Before the year was out every man in the group — and

LANDING "RETURNS."

29

the news went further than that — knew that the reverend
gentleman accused Captain Wawn of breaking- into his
house. The kitchen, by the way, was a building de-
tached from the dwelling-house. I suppose it was not
worth his while to sift the matter properly, so long as he
could get a good story to tell against a " slaver." Many
of the stories told by this gentleman about " labour "
vessels have just as good a foundation, and no better.

From Aniwa we crossed to Erromanga. We visited
Cook's Bay on the east, and afterwards landed our " re-
turns " at their home, Norras, on the south-west coast.

LANDING RETURNS.

When the boats were seen pulling in towards Norras,
a crowd of about a hundred men mastered to meet them,
no women or children being visible. This was a bad
sign, but the sight of the " returns," with their boxes and
bundles, appeared to put most of them in a better tem-
per. No other recruits were forthcoming, so we left and
squared away for Sandwich Island.

The mountains in the interior of Erromanga rise to
about the same height as those of Tanna, and are of the
same description. The coast is almost entirely of coral,
elevated on the west to 200 feet. There are three

30 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

anchorages, of which I have used only one, in Dillon's
Bay. There is a mission station here. No less than
five missionaries, three of them resident, have been
murdered by the natives, who have the reputation of
being the most treacherous of all New Hebrideans —
though it is merely "blackening the devil" to say so.
The Revs. Williams and Harris were killed here in
1839. Gordon and his wife were murdered in 1861 ; and,
subsequently, the brother of the last-named gentleman
met his death at the hands of these savages.

There is a story current in these islands about the
death of the elder Gordon and his wife, which I give
here as I had it from a native of Dillon's Bay. He
stated that the reverend gentleman experienced great
difficulty in making converts ; in fact, that he could not
induce a single soul to enter the fold. One day he fell
in with some of the chiefs and old men, and straightway
delivered to them a powerful harangue on their sinful-
ness, winding up by telling them that surely, if they
did not repent and become Christians, God would in-
flict some terrible punishment upon them. However,
they continued to chance it until, sure enough, a whaling
ship anchored in the bay and introduced some disease
among them, measles or smallpox, which swept them off
wholesale. The Erromanga man told me they died so
fast that the living could not bury the dead, but blocked
up the doors of the houses and left the corpses to rot in
them. The survivors thought, like all savages, that
some one must have " made " this sickness, and their sus-
picion, finally amounting to certainty, fell upon the poor
missionary.

He had told them God would send some punishment
along, if they did not become "missionary" Christians;
consequently they imagined he had prayed to his God
to send sickness, which had accordingly been sent.
Though it had begun to diminish, it might any day arise
again. As long as the missionaries were alive, they had

IN PANGO BAY. 31

merely the choice of Christianity or smallpox. They
did not like either, so they killed Gordon to stop his
praying, and his wife also to complete the job.

There is a fine stream of water here. The anchorages
at Polenia and Elizabeth Bay are, I believe, very con-
fined. There is none at Cook's Bay, and a heavy swell
sets inshore, dangerous in light winds. The shore reefs
extend a great distance from the land on the north side
of the bay, and were not represented on the charts up to
1890. With the exception of these places, the coast all
round is steep. Pango Point, long and low, forms the
south-east side of Pango Bay, at the head of which is
Port Vila or Sou'-West Harbour, a well-sheltered port,
but with limited anchorage. The eastern part is too
deep, and the north-west arm is blocked up with coral
reef. The only fair anchorage is between Vila Islet, on
the starboard as one enters, and Lelika Islet, in the
middle of the harbour.

There was a mission station on Lelika I. in charge of
the Rev. Mr. Annan, but his labours did not appear to
be very successful. About a rnile and a half from Vila,
and also at the head of the bay, is Mele I., connected
with the mainland by a sunken reef. A powerful tribe
lives on this islet, having plantations on the mainland.
The Mele and the Vila people differ very much from the
other Sandwich I. natives in language and customs.
They seem to have a strong strain of the true Poly-
nesian in their blood. The north side of Pango Bay is
" devil " country ; it is unproductive land, and is there-
fore supposed by the natives to be infested with devils,
or spirits hostile to man. I know of several small dis-
tricts on other islands bearing a similar reputation.

Vila Harbour and Mele I. proving unproductive in
the way of recruits, we kept on to the north, passing
Havannah Harbour on the north-west coast of Sandwich
I., a common port of call for vessels visiting this group.
Mai, or "Three Hills" I., was next tried. The anchorage

32 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

here is in a bay on the north-west side, the wide fringe
reef of which extends over half a mile out from the shore
along the whole length of the island. The inhabitants
of Mai and those of the Shepherd Is. to the eastward,
one of which, Tongoa, was in sight from this anchorage,
speak the Sandwich I. language, and have the same
dress and customs. Api I., with the peak of Lopevi
appearing over and beyond it, lay to the north. We did
fairly well and spent a couple of days here before running
over to the west coast of Api, where I anchored in I bo
Bay, about three miles beyond the south-west point, in
nine fathoms. This is a good watering-place, and as
there is no village of " salt water " or coast natives here,
we had free communication with several inland tribes,
" man-o'-bush," as they are termed in South Sea English.
Thence we worked the west coast as far as Duane, the
north-western point.

This part of Api is thickly populated, and the beaches
between the Foreland (a remarkable bluff promontory)
and Duane Point have witnessed some bloody scenes.
At this period a native of the part, known as " Three-
fingered Jack," was a notorious character. He had been
concerned in the murder of the mate and the son of the
master of the schooner Zephyr of Sydney, towards the
end of 1874. In Lammen, a low islet on the west side
of Point Duane, the natives are also very dangerous ; but,
previous to this, they had received a good dressing from
Captain McLeod, who traded between New Caledonia
and the New Hebrides under the French flag, and they
were now tolerably quiet and well behaved. Api re-
sembles Tanna and Erromanga in its formation, but its
mountains are scarcely so high. At Tassi-wor and
Sakari, near the south-eastern extremity, the native dress
and language resemble those of the Sandwich and Shep-
herd Is. ; but in the central and western parts the men
dispense with any dress beyond a handful of leaves, and
their language differs considerably from that of other

VEGETABLES CULTIVATED.

33

tribes. There are two or three other anchorages on the

o

west coast, besides I bo Bay.

In the southern islands of this group the common
yam is the principal article of food, though we bought
the ufelei or sweet yam largely ; further north, taro
became commoner than either. Bread-fruit was also to
be had more frequently, but I never saw it in this group
equal to that which the " Line " islands produce. Yams
are the tuberous roots of a long creeping plant, or
vine, and sometimes grow to a large size on volcanic
soil, as in Tanna, where a yam weighing a hundred-
weight is, or was a few years ago, not such a very un-
usual sight. Five to ten pounds is the average weight.

YAM PLANTS.

In Tanna I. this vegetable is grown on mounds, the
vines being trained over to shelter the roots. In the
northern islands of this group, and in New Caledonia,
each plant is grown separately, and the vines are trained
up long sticks.

In Bonape I., one of the Carolines, a piece of cord
pegged at one end to the ground and the other fastened
to the limb of a tree, often suffices as a support for the
vine, without any clearing of grass or shrubs except for
a foot or two round the roots. The yam will not grow
on the low islands of the coral atolls.

Taro is an arum, the bulb of which is farinaceous, and

D

34

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

not unlike a dumpling when boiled. The best kind is
grown in running water, and the natives sometimes go
to considerable trouble — for them — in cutting ditches to
convey water from neighbouring streams to the taro
patches. Another and bigger kind, with a large dark
leaf, grows in dry soil. This keeps well, and is used
chiefly on journeys and canoe voyages in New Caledonia.
The bread-fruit tree does not attain to such a size in
the New Hebrides as in the "Line" islands, neither is
the fruit either so large or so good as that I have eaten
in Bonape. There the young tree is propagated from
suckers springing from the roots of the old one ; and the

TARO PLANT.

BREAD-FRUIT.

fruit, perhaps on account of this method of cultivation, has
no nuts or seeds in it, besides growing to double the size
it attains to in the New Hebrides. The fruit of the
pandanus tree is largely used by the natives of the coral
islands near the Equator as an article of food, for which
purpose it is admirably suited. In the New Hebrides it
is of a very inferior quality, being regarded as useless.
Its leaves form a very durable thatch for houses.

We engaged two or three recruits on this coast, but
the fact of the recruiter and the boat's crew being
comparative strangers militated against us. Owing to
frequent kidnappings by vessels from Fiji, Honolulu,
Samoa, and possibly also from Queensland and New

A SHOT FROM THE SHORE. 35

Caledonia, the inhabitants were very chary about ventur-
ing near the boats when they saw them manned by
strangers. We engaged a man named Sorso to act as
boatman and interpreter at Mallicolo, where we intended
to proceed shortly. We had now great hopes of making
a "good haul" at Paama I., which we visited after leav-
ing Api. The recruiter had had some boys from this
island working under him in Queensland. These had
since returned home, and he made sure that he would
meet some old acquaintances who would either engage
again themselves or prevail upon others to accompany
us. However, we were grievously disappointed, and we
sailed away again without taking a man or woman out of
the island. As the boats were being pulled off to the ship,
a shot was fired at them from the shore, but fortunately
the bullet flew wide of the mark. I mention this as
being the first shot, if I recollect aright, fired at my
boats in this trade, though afterwards it often occurred.
In fact, I never made a voyage either in this or the
Solomon groups without most of us experiencing the
sensation of a bullet or an arrow whistling past us oc-
casionally. Special cases I shall mention in due course.
Paama is a small, rugged, lofty island, with an anchor-
age of twelve to sixteen fathoms on its western side,
near the Marie Stuart reef. This, which is a dangerous
coral reef extending1 a mile westward of the south-

o

west point, derives its name from a vessel wrecked
on it. The Paama natives are an especially filthy lot,
and, to me, have always appeared hosiile to whites.
The island of Lopevi lies about three miles east of
Paama. It rises from the ocean in the form of a huge
cone, on the top of which is the crater of a volcano. My
Admiralty chart gives the height as 5,000 feet, but I
think that is rather excessive. A few natives have
habitations on the north side. I have never seen this
volcano in an active state, but mariners have reported
smoke issuing from the summit, and the natives say

36 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

that they are sometimes alarmed by subterranean dis-
turbances.

From Paama I steered to the south-west coast of
Ambrym. In this island there is a very large volcano
with two craters, according to native report, which rises
to a height of more than 3,000 feet above the sea. The
coast is generally rocky and steep, but there are two
or three small anchorages. In Champion's Bay, on the
south-west, I found from five to twenty fathoms of water,
with not much roll from the sea. When these islands are
clouded over, as they generally are during the daytime,
the prevailing wind is not felt, and in its place an " eddy-
wind " almost always sets in the opposite direction.

Under Ambrym I. — probably owing to the huge
volume of smoke arising from the craters and intensi-
fying the bank of cloud resting on the summits — this is
especially the case.

We engaged three or four boys on the north-west
coast, and two men promised to steal away at night with
their wives from their village. I stood close in to the
coast at night, and sent the boats to a spot appointed
as the rendezvous ; but we were disappointed. Fresh
water was now running short on board ; and as there is
no convenient watering-place on this side of Ambrym, I
squared away and ran down to Narovorovo, on the west
of Aurora I. (Maiwo). I might have obtained a fresh
supply on Pentecost I. (Aragh), but at this time I was
not at all acquainted with that island.

The natives of Aurora I. hardly come up to the
standard of Papuans in these waters. A large propor-
tion of the men appeared to me stunted and misshapen.
The village nearest to the anchorage at Narovorovo is
situated about a mile away northward, and the inhabi-
tants did not make an appearance until we had been at
anchor some hours. It was then afternoon, our watering
was all completed, but the boats were still at the beach.
Our party were enjoying the luxury of a bath in the

A THREATENED ATTACK.

37

running stream, a number of the recruits disporting
themselves in the sea or on the beach. Fortunately
the Mare men and other boatmen had been posted all
day within the outskirts of the dense forests overhanging
the beach, and were concealed from view.

Suddenly, without warning, a long line of about fifty
savages issued from the forest about 200 yards from the
boats, making directly for them at a run. Possibly they
thought they had the whole party cheap. But they pulled
up short, about fifty yards off, when out from the trees
and bushes rushed our Mare and Tanna men, out-
flanking them, each with his gun ready in his hand.

ATTACK AT NAROVOROVO.

They changed their attitude at once ; but as no women
or children accompanied them, and they were all fully
armed with bows and poisoned arrows, spears, clubs, and
tomahawks, it was quite plain what their object had
been. Besides, they had brought nothing with them
for sale.

Some conversation then took place between the two
parties, after which the natives began slowly to return
to their village. Suddenly one of them turned and let
fly an arrow at one of the boatmen. It missed its mark,
and in a few moments not one of them was to be seen.
Our fellows chased them into the forest without firing a
shot. The master of the Lcclia cutter, of Fiji, had been

38 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

murdered here during the previous year, together with
one or two of his boatmen.

From Aurora I. we went to Port Sandwich in Mallicolo
I., speaking H.M. schooner Alacrity on the way, at the
east end of Aoba or Lepers' I. Port Sandwich is one of
the few safe harbours in this group. It is a long, narrow
bay, about four miles in extent ; but the anchorage is very
limited, the outer position being too deep, and two-thirds
of the whole port being blocked by coral patches or
mud banks. The entrance is contracted by jutting
coral reefs. The French " New Hebrides Co." have
now a trading station on Sandy Point. The fringe
reefs on the south-east side have to be carefully avoided,
as near Sandy Point they extend a considerable distance
from the shore. There is also a large native village on
this side near the entrance, and habitations are scattered
about the hills on both sides. Two small rivers flow
into the harbour — one, the Erskine, on the west side,
and the other, unnamed, into the extreme head ; but
neither of them affords a suitable watering-place.

The Mallicolo natives differ to no great extent from
the others, being just as savage and warlike. During
the previous year a native boat's crew from Sandwich I.
had been tomahawked and speared to death on the
sandy point abreast of where we lay. They were, how-
ever, very friendly towards us, and several men soon
came off on a tour of inspection, most of them in a
canoe, and two or three by swimming. We gleaned three
men here, and then stood northward along the coast.

Mallicolo is the largest of the New Hebrides, with
the exception of Espiritu Santo I. (commonly called
"-Santo "). Its mountains attain a height of over 3,000
feet. It has not been ascertained for certain whether
there is a volcano on Mallicolo or not. All I know of
this matter is derived from an account given me by a
native at Ura, an islet on the south-west coast. He
said there were two large holes in the ground, a long

CRATERS IN MALLICOLO.

39

way back in the interior of the island, each inhabited by
a fiery " devil-devil." That these alternately emerged,
each for a few days at a time, and that one of them
" kai-kaied " — devoured — grass, and the other stones.
These are possibly small craters, which are only oc-
casionally active, and then only one at a time, grass
growing about the edges of one of them during the
periods of quiescence. The shores of Mallicolo are
more diversified than those of the islands we had
hitherto visited, being varied by islets and dangerous
outlying coral reefs and patches. The anchorages are
numerous.

A RUNAWAY HUSBAND.

CHAPTER II.

FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875 (concluded}.

Down the coast of Mallicolo I. — A volunteer recruited — Interpre-
ters— Mbangon Bay — Natives seize a boat — Ururiki I. —
Sorso tempted — Sorso deserts — Islanders scared — A night
alarm — Sorso's tale — Port Stanley — St. Bartliolomeiv I. —
Mario " Pass " — Reputation of the women — Lepers* I. —
Attack on the recruiting boat — List of casualties — Maiwo I.
— Homeward bound — Sakau — A storm — Picking up pas-
sengers— Tongoa I. — H.M.S. Pearl — Interview with Com-
modore GoodenougJi — My advice to him — His fate — Ha-
vannah Harbour — Tragedies enacted there — Settlers in
Sandwich I. — How wet weather affects recruiting — Leaving
Tanna I. — Measles on board — Rigging up a hospital —
Rounding Fraser I. — The pilot — A colonial "official" —
Inspection of recruits — The affair at Lepers' I. — Newspaper
slanders.

FROM Port Sandwich, Mallicolo I., we ran down the
coast for about three miles to Mbangon Bay, which is
well sheltered from the trade winds, anchoring there half
a mile from the shore. We got four boys very quickly.
One youngster, who had been some years among white
people, volunteered as interpreter, and made himself very
useful. Interpreters seldom join as recruits themselves ;
however, as the boat was being pushed off from the
beach with the four recruits, this youngster quietly said
to the recruiter,—

" Now, mate, very good you buy me."

A knife, a tomahawk, etc., were accordingly passed
ashore to the friends of the lad, and he filled the office
of cabin boy on board for the remainder of the voyage
to Maryborough.

In those days it sometimes happened that interpreters

MAP II.

VannaLav

AreaxB

•Jlitll-hul.br :'l'k IV M'lll I

Sarfiwich.1

NATIVES SEIZE A BOAT. 41

were not forthcoming when required, while now it would
be very remarkable if one did not find a single English-
speaking native among ten men on any beach in this
group. I am of opinion that fully one half of the men
belonging to tribes residing within three miles of the
coasts have fulfilled a term of service in one or other of
our colonies. Even in the far interior of Mallicolo and
Espiritu Santo Is., interpreters may be obtained with
very little trouble. Children pick up South Sea English
very quickly ; and I have known boys who came on
board my vessel converse fluently, having acquired the
language from returned labourers and by visiting trading
and labour vessels.

On the north of Mbangon a long point and coral
reef extend about four miles out from the coast. In the
second bay southward of this point is situated the large
and populous village of Merrabwei. Here I hove to,
and the recruiter pulled off to the beach under the village.
For some reason, I forget what, the second boat did not
leave the ship until the recruiter had already got among
the natives. A crowd of about two hundred surrounded
his boat as soon as she touched the sand, and, seizing
her, with all her crew in her, pulled her up almost clear
of the water. They evidently meant mischief, and pro-
bably the whole boat's crew would have been massacred
had they rashly offered resistance. Luckily the ship lay
within rifle-shot, and the second boat, with the mate and
the G.A. in her, pulled quickly off to assist the first.
The natives then retreated, leaving the boat and its
occupants unharmed. The latter were glad to get back
to the ship, although unsuccessful.

From the "long reef" we ran down the coast to the
north-west, until opposite the centre of the island.
There extensive fringe reefs were seen, and, northward
of the first small islet, a deep bay appeared. This has
the mainland on the south-west, and on the opposite
side a low, curved promontory of coral formation, thickly

42 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

wooded. At the extreme end of this is the inhabited
islet of Ururiki. In the midst of the bay are some large
reefs and islets, on the extreme north of which I
anchored in eighteen fathoms. The sun was very low
when I arrived, and I was glad to find bottom any-
where ; though this was hardly a safe anchorage. The
islet of Orambau is situated about a mile northward of
Ururiki, a deep channel lying between.

The day after our arrival the boats visited the main-
land at various points, but the natives were very shy.
Sorso, the interpreter engaged at Lammen I., conversed
with them, however, and at one point more than a
dozen crowded about the recruiting boat. We never
knew what arguments they used to induce Sorso to
desert ; but after a while he made an excuse to go up
the beach into the bush, and on that day we saw him no
more. The natives quietly but quickly slipped away,
leaving two iron tomahawks, and some bows and arrows,
behind them on the sand.

As Sorso did not return, search was made for him in
the vicinity of the boats ; but no trace of him being
found, the recruiter came to the conclusion that he had
deserted, though at first fancying he might have been
killed. To make up for his loss a small brindled pig
was captured and brought off, together with the aban-
doned weapons.

Not liking the present anchorage, on account of a heavy
swell setting in round the point of Ururiki, I shifted
our moorings next day to the south end of the islet.
As soon as we had anchored again, several canoes left
the islet, filled with women and children, apparently
clearing out to the main for safety — a needless pre-
caution on their part. Some seven or eight men
ventured alongside, however, after our boats had paid a
visit to the beach near the village, and then confidence
was restored, and by the next morning all the runaways
had returned.

SOXSO RETURNS. 43

The " trades " were now blowing almost a gale of wind ;
but we lay sheltered in smooth water, the boats mean-
while coasting all round the bay in search of recruits,
but without success. On the mainland no natives ap-
peared, probably owing to Sorso's secession.

Just before dawn, the second night we spent here, I
was awakened by the anchor watch (one seaman) run-
ning aft and calling out to me that a fleet of canoes were
coming down on the ship from the head of the harbour.
Mindful of Captain McLeod's experience in the Maske-
lynes a year or two before this, and how a fleet of canoes
attacked his vessel, the Donald McLean, and were only
beaten off after sharp fighting, I immediately roused all
hands, and in a minute or two the deck bristled with
arms, and every preparation was made for repelling an
attack.

The cries became more distinct and drew nearer,
making us sure we were in for a fight. However, it
turned out at length that the sounds proceeded from one
person only ; and presently a canoe, with a single occu-
pant, came into view out of the darkness, driving down
to the ship before the wind. A rope thrown from the
bows was caught and made fast, and then the deserter,
Sorso, shivering in his old shirt, and as pale as it is
possible for a brown skin to become, climbed on deck.

His story was soon told. The natives had persuaded
him to bolt, pretending they had ascertained that we
meant to carry him off to Queensland. At first they
treated him well, but, during the second night, he had
overheard the headmen saying it was their intention to
" make meat " of him, so he ran off into the bush and
had kept himself concealed there during the previous day.
When night fell, he coasted round the bay, stole a canoe,
and made for the ship, knowing that a thrashing was the
worst he had to expect from us.

Even this he escaped, an unmerciful chaffing being all
the punishment dealt out to him. We broke up his

44 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

stolen canoe for firewood, and then got under way, it
being now broad daylight.

A few weeks afterwards I was on board H.M.S. Pearl,
giving all the information I could about anchorages and
so forth to the late Commodore Goodenough. I men-
tioned this bay to him, calling it " Port Stanley " in
memory of our visit, and that name it still retains.

Thence I shaped a northerly course, passing the Nor'-
East Is., which Sorso called " Sissi," a word meaning
" small."

Having arrived off the north-western coast of St.
Bartholomew I., I dropped anchor in twelve fathoms,
to the east of a dangerous projecting reef, commonly
known as the " Robert Towns " Reef. This was named
after a Sydney barque, which had been wrecked on it
some two or three years before this. Here we had the
good fortune to engage a few recruits, and then beat
back in an easterly direction, passing between St. Bar-
tholomew and Mallicolo Is.

St. Bartholomew, or, as the natives call it, Mario, is
entirely of coral formation, I believe, the western end
being elevated to 800 feet, the eastern portion being
low. The channel between it and the south coast of
Espiritu Santo is dangerous, except with a fair and com-
manding breeze, being much beset with reefs, and the
tides running very strongly through it. The eastern
end of the channel is generally known as Mario " Pass "
or " Passage," and in it anchorage can be obtained at
various depths. On the south-east coast there is a
sheltered bay, formed by two low islets connected with
the main island by a reef.

The north shore of Mario Pass is not formed by the
" mainland "-—Espiritu Santo I. — itself, but by the island
of Arore, which another channel divides from the main.
These channels are connected on the west. The eastern
extremity of the northernmost of them, which is known
as Segond Channel, terminates in a bay behind Tetuba,

CHARACTER OF NATIVES. 45

an islet lying off the south-eastern corner of Espiritu
Santo I.

The inhabitants of Mario Pass have acquired an un-
enviable reputation. Probably nowhere throughout the
South Seas are the natives conspicuously careful of the
virtue of chastity. Here, in St. Bartholomew and
Arore Is., it is still less understood or appreciated, and,
in the lack of it, the women of these islands may be
fairly said to " bang Banagher."

At daybreak one morning we found ourselves a mile
to windward of the western end of Aoba, or Lepers' I.
It was then blowing half a gale from the south-west, with
dirty weather. Squaring away before the breeze, we
soon found smooth water under the lee of the island.
Viewed at a distance, either from north or south, it re-
sembles a whale's back, consisting of a huge rounded
mountain lying east and west.

The inhabitants of this island are extremely treach-
erous, and very hostile to white men. This they have
proved on a number of occasions, murdering and after-
wards eating those who fell into their hands. There
seems to be an admixture of Polynesian with Papuan
blood among them.

The afternoon of our arrival at Lepers' I. the schooner
was lying almost becalmed under the lee of the lofty
central portion of the island, about three-quarters of a
mile from the shore. The boats were in sight at some dis-
tance. The recruiter, with whom were the Doctor and
" Cash," had run his boat into a small nook on the rocky
coast, under a high bank, above which stood a solitary
hut backed by dense forest. The G.A. and mate in
the second boat lay about 400 yards to the westward.

Suddenly we heard the sound of firing, followed by-
yells from the natives on shore, and then we saw the
recruiter's boat push out with a seemingly diminished
crew. The mate's boat pulled quickly up, took her in
tow, and presently brought her alongside, all her own

46 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

crew being more or less hurt. It seems the natives had
called them into the place on pretence of friendship. A
crowd gathered about the stern of the boat, and several
fellows even got into her. All of a sudden our men
were attacked with clubs and tomahawks. The recruiter
escaped the first blows aimed at him, making play with
his fists until he had an opportunity to draw his revolver.
" Tom Sayers," a Mare man, received a tomahawk blow
on the head, which laid the scalp open, but did not
penetrate his skull, fortunately. Bobby Towns, another
Mare boatman, had both his thumbs cut in warding off
blows, one of them being so nearly severed from the
hand that the doctor had to finish that operation. Lahu,
a Lifu boy, the recruiter's special attendant, was cut and
pricked in various places, but nowhere seriously. Jack,
an unlucky Tanna recruit, who had been engaged to act
as boatman, received an arrow through his forearm, the
head of which — a piece of bone seven or eight inches
long — was still in the limb, protruding from both sides,
when the boats returned. The Doctor and " Cash "
were both thrown down in the boat at the commence-
ment of the affray, and suffered no hurt. The recruiter
would have got off scot-free had not an arrow pinned
one of his fingers to the loom of the steering-oar just as
they were getting off. The fight had been short, but
sharp. Considering the numbers of the Aoba men, and
the unexpectedness of the attack, it is a wonder that all
our people were not massacred.

The enemy lost two men, at least, both shot dead.
None of the arrows that wounded our men proved to
have been poisoned, happily. Tom Sayers had received
the most serious injury. At first I was afraid he would
lose his life, the gash on his head looking bad enough.
However, when the doctor overhauled him, it was
found that the thickness of his skull had saved him.
Had he been a white man, the bone would certainly have
given way under the blow he had received.

MEASLES AND DYSENTERY. 47

After dark the clouds cleared off the land, the true
" trade wind " filled the sails again, and a course was
shaped for the northern end of Aurora, or Mai wo I.
Next morning I anchored off Lakarere, or the " Double
Waterfall," and lay there two days and nights.

Lakarere was the turning-point of the voyage, for
thence we shaped a homeward course, usually working
back through the group against the trade wind by night,
and in the daytime keeping near the boats as they pulled
along the lee shores of the islands, looking for recruits.

The west coasts of Ambrym and Paama Is. were
again tried, but proved singularly unproductive. On the
western and southern coasts of Api I. the inhabitants
complained so much of the ravages of measles, and of
its frequent consequence, dysentery, that we did not
delay there long.

One day I anchored off Sakau, on the south-east
coast of Api I., the wind then blowing lightly from
north-east, with rather a dull, cloudy sky. Towards
evening the sky became still more overcast, with a
threatening aspect towards north-east. About 7 p.m.
a vivid flash of lightning showed in the same quarter.
I immediately weighed anchor and got both boats out
ahead — the northerly wind being exceedingly light — to
tow the vessel out of the anchorage. Having gained
a mile of offing, I hoisted in my boats, and had hardly
done so when a violent squall of wind, accompanied by
thunder and lightning and dense rain, burst upon us.
Having taken good bearings before it reached us, I was
enabled to point the ship's head so as to run for the open
sea, passing between Mai I. and the Shepherd Is. I
expected this breeze would last through the night, since
the barometer was rather low and showed no sign of
rising. But I was wrong in my calculations. When we
were nearly abreast of the east end of Mai I. the wind
lessened for a while, then, hauling round into the south,
increased to a gale. This necessitated our beating

48 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

about under short canvas all night under the lee of the
island, only managing to reach our anchorage by day-
light next morning.

Here we met four natives of Tongoa I., who had
paddled across to Mai on a visit, and were afraid to trust
themselves and their canoe in the heavy sea now rolling
in between them and their home.

Having received a pig as payment for their passage,
I shipped them and their canoe on board, and crossed
over to Tongoa, the northernmost of the Shepherd Is.,
two days later.

Close to the western point of this island, which is
mountainous and rugged, I found a stony beach, with
a steep bank or cliff rising behind it, above which was
the native village of Panita. Here I dropped anchor.
While we lay there, an unpleasant roll of the sea set
in, coming round the point.

The recruiter landed our passengers close under the
lee of this point, as they were afraid to trust them-
selves among the Panita people. Cades reported on his
return that the four hauled up their canoe above high-
water mark, quickly disappearing into the bush. He
subsequently saw a party of Panita men hastily following
them. I only hope my late passengers got safely home,
but I have some doubts about it.

Next morning the recruiter was ashore on the beach
with his boat's crew, when H.M.S. Pearl hove in sight,
coming round the western end of the island under sail.
Shortly after her lieutenant boarded the Stanley, over-
hauled the ship and my papers. This formality having
been satisfactorily concluded,! repaired on board the Pearl
to report the attack on my boat by the Aoba natives to
Commodore Goodenough, who was then in command of
the Australian squadron. After the story of the skirmish
was ended, I remained more than an hour with the
Commodore, giving him such information as I could
with regard to harbours, anchorages, etc. In the course

HAVANNAH HARBOUR. 49

of conversation he said it was very probable he would
attempt to ascend the volcanoes on Ambrym I.

This I endeavoured to dissuade him from doine, as-

o '

suring him that he would thereby risk his own and his
men's lives, by exposing- them to native treachery. This
advice, however, he rather pooh-poohed, stating as his
firm belief that savages, if kindly treated, would show no
hostility.

He did not attempt the ascent of the volcano, after all;
but very shortly afterwards he found out the mistake of
trusting to the good feelings of natives — only too late,
for he was mortally wounded by poisoned arrows on
Nitendi I., in the Santa Cruz group.

We obtained three recruits at Tongoa, sailing thence
to Havannah Harbour, Sandwich I., where we took on
board wood and water.

This spacious harbour lies on the north-western coast
of Sandwich I., protected by the smaller Deception I.
and Protection I., both of which are elevated and of
coral formation. It has a length of five miles by an
average width of one mile. At its southern end, between
the main island and Protection I., there is a clear and
very deep passage, which is the principal entrance to
the port. There is another ship's passage between the
two islets, much narrower and shallower.

The natives living on the shores of Havannah Harbour
are now tolerably quiet and peaceable. I assume that
this is due rather to intercourse with traders, and to a
wholesome experience of ship's guns, than to the work of
the missionary, whose influence hardly extends a quarter
of a mile beyond his house. However this may be, it is
certain that, in former times, many a white man's blood
has stained the shores of Havannah Harbour. In April,
1847, these savages massacred all but two of the crew of
the wrecked barque British Sovereign, and the crew of
another vessel, previously lost near the harbour, had
suffered a like fate before them.

50 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The settlement at Semma, with its central position,
fine harbour, and other natural advantages, may be
looked upon as the nucleus of the future capital of the
New Hebrides. For, though progressing very slowly, it
is steadily increasing. Messrs. Trueman and Macleod
were, I believe, the first whites who settled here with
the intention of cultivating land to a considerable extent.
Their attempt was abruptly terminated by a mournful
tragedy. During a drunken quarrel Macleod shot
Trueman dead, though in self-defence as reported ; and
for a short time afterwards the place was abandoned.
This affair occurred in 1870.

At the time of our visit, Mr. Hebblewhite, of Sydney,
had taken up his residence there. He had erected a good
weather-board dwelling-house, and had also a large store
well supplied with goods suitable for the native trade,
and for furnishing ships. There were two or three other
settlers besides ; but the lack of an established govern-
ment, together with difficulties arising out of the intro-
duction of labourers from other islands of the group, had
tended towards preventing any permanent occupation
by British subjects for purposes of agriculture.

Sandwich I. possesses a similar formation to its larger
neighbours, consisting of a backbone of mountains rising
from a flat, low-lying coast of coral. Havannah and Vila
Harbours afford the only landlocked anchorages on this
coast.

From Havannah Harbour we sailed to Tanna I.,
leaving Erromanga I. unvisited, as the weather was so
wet that the boats would have had small chance of
success. Wet weather impedes the recruiter's work.
The naked savage prefers the shelter of his hut to the
less efficient cover of dripping trees. Even if he does
venture out, he will not come down to the open beach,
where the wind would have full play upon his wet and
shivering carcase.

Only one day was spent at Tanna I., and even

MEASLES ON BOARD. 51

a portion of that on board the Maryborough labour
schooner Sibyl — Captain Taylor; Mr. Andrews, G.A.

The weather was still too wet for recruiting, no sign
of a change being apparent. So, although we had only
seventy-two recruits on board, instead of a hundred and
eight — the complement we were licensed to carry — our
recruiter deemed it better to return to Maryborough at
once with those we had engaged, than to run any further
risk of measles and dysentery. These diseases were both
very prevalent just then in all the islands we had visited.

Accordingly, towards evening, the boats were secured,
the yards braced sharp up on the port tack, the ensign
thrice dipped " good-bye " to the Sibyl, and off we went
on our way home, shaping our course so as to weather
the southern extremity of New Caledonia.

During the whole cruise among the islands, we had
been as careful to avoid infection as was possible consis-
tently with the work of recruiting ; and especially had
we made it a rule not to enter any of the native huts.
However, as it turned out, one of our boatmen had dis-
obeyed orders in this respect, by allowing himself to be
beguiled into a hut in the mission village at Havannah
Harbour. The consequence was that on the day after
our departure from Tanna, he was taken ill, and the
doctor pronounced his case to be one of measles. Of
course this spread consternation throughout the ship.
The boat on the port davits, being on the "weather " side,
was selected as a hospital. A tarpaulin was rigged up
over it for a roof, and planks were laid across the thwarts
for patients to lie on. Happily, we had not much occa-
sion to use our hospital, however, this being the only
case of measles we were destined to have on board. It
proved to be a slight attack, and did not spread. An-
other boy even lay in the boat by the side of the first
patient without taking the infection. He had only a
severe cold, though at first it was feared he was going to
develop measles also.

52 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

We weathered the extensive reefs off the south-eastern
coast of New Caledonia, running thence with a fair wind
to Maryborough. The currents set very strongly, as
also variably, off the Isle of Pines. Several times we
experienced " rips " over what looked like surf breaking
upon coral reefs.

As we were nearing Breaksea Spit, Fraser I., the
wind fell very light, hauling round to nor'-nor'-west, the
current carrying us southward at the same time. I was
therefore obliged to make for Wide Bay bar, at the
southern end of Fraser I., instead of rounding the
northern point of the Spit and reaching Maryborough

THE DOCTOR'S INSPECTION.

by way of Hervey Bay. After some further difficulties
of a similar sort, I beat in over the bar with the flood,
against a westerly wind, and anchored near the pilot
station.

The pilot boarded us off the station, and took the
Stanley up to her anchorage. Of course he was in-
formed before he came on board that we had had a case
of measles, as likewise that the ship was now clear of
that disorder. However, no sooner was the anchor
down than he left the ship, no doubt deeming discretion
the better part of valour. Next day he sent his cox-
swain to take the Stanley on to Maryborough, where we
arrived about the end of August.

NEWSPAPER SLANDERS. 53

As soon as the ship was moored alongside the river
bank, opposite to the town, the sub- immigration agent
came on board. This gentleman was also protector or
inspector — I forget which — of Polynesians, sub-collector
of customs, shipping master, and various other things.
In fact, he "milked the Government cow " to a consider-
able extent, filling sundry offices in his own person.
With him came the Government medical officer. The
inspector examined our recruits as to the manner in
which they had been induced to venture to Queensland,
and as to the length of time they had agreed to serve,
and so forth. The medical officer, at the same time,
made a reasonably careful survey of them, to ascertain
that all were fit, mentally as well as physically, to do
labourers' work.

This being over, and all the recruits having been
passed satisfactorily, during the next three or four days
they were gradually engaged for service, leaving us one
after another, until the ship was clear of them.

About a week after our arrival the police magistrate
held an inquiry into the skirmish at Lepers' I. (Aoba).
This affair had been made to appear much more serious
than it really was by the reporter of " The Brisbane
Courier." In the interest of the " Anti- Kanaka " party
he had dressed up the plain facts, adding to his account
of the affray that " the whites retaliated by burning
villages." The inquiry over, I heard nothing more
about the matter.

CHAPTER III.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875.

Passengers on board — Reasons for taking them — A lengtliy pas-
sage— A rrival at Port Resolution, Tanna I. — Visit to a
native chief — " Washerwoman" — Waisissa and Itoa — Vila
and Havannah — Hostilities at Merrabwei — The mates ruse
— Aurora /.— Visit to Lakarere Falls — Croton plants — A
" sing- sing" ground — Ambrym,Api, and Tongoa Is. — A re-
enlistment — Vila Harbour — Mr. Hebblewhite and slavery —
Cabin-boys — Dillon's Bay, Erromanga I. — Drifting ashore —
" Down with the boats ! " — A struggle for safety — Natives
waiting for the wreck — A welcome breeze — Homeward bound
— TJie Great Queensland — -John Renton — Eight years in the
Solomon Is. — Rescued at last— Wreck of the Lyttona.

I SAILED again in command of the Stanley in October,
on a recruiting trip as before. The Government agent,
who had accompanied me during the last voyage, was
re-appointed ; but our former recruiter, the doctor, and
" Cash," as well as the piano, remained on shore. I had
two fresh passengers in the cabin in their places — young
fellows who wished to see the islands, and who paid
handsomely for the privilege of making the round trip
in the schooner.

In a general way passengers would be simply a
nuisance on a labour vessel ; every inch of space, both
in the ship and in the boats, being required for stores
and for recruits. However, I foresaw that there would
be a sensible advantage in taking these gentlemen, apart
from the hard cash gained thereby. We were so often
dubbed "slavers," and so frequently accused of kidnap-
ping— as though Kanakas could not be induced to come
to the colony, except by compulsion — that I, for one,

I VISIT A NATIVE CHIEF. 55

was always glad to show disinterested persons how
recruiting was really carried on, hoping that thereby
erroneous impressions might be dispelled, in some
measure, from the public mind.

After taking in wood and water at the White Cliffs, I
got to sea — as on the last voyage — by rounding Break-
sea Spit, whence we had a rough and lengthy passage
before reaching the Isle of Pines. I had to fight the
trade-wind the whole way, failing to find any westerly
breeze in my favour.

We passed the Loyalty Is. without paying them a
visit, our first call being at Port Resolution, Tanna I.,
where I obtained boatmen.

The day we anchored, the G.A. and I landed on the
western side of the harbour, and walked a mile or more,
along a very rough and rocky native track, to the village
of a chief, who was known to Europeans as " Washer-
woman " —which designation was, I suppose, a perversion
of his native name. We found this gentleman at home ;

O

but since our object was to obtain recruits, our walk did
not profit us. " Washerwoman " could not spare a single
man, even if any had wished to leave. It appeared
that he had quarrelled with some of his neighbours on
the other side of the harbour, and a conflict between the
tribes was impending. However, I believe no fighting
took place, a hollow truce having been patched up be-
tween the contending parties, shortly after which treaty
" Washerwoman " was treacherously murdered by some
of his enemies.

I was not the only European sorry to hear of his
death ; for he had always been a good friend to white
men.

The G.A. and I undertook another trip, this time by
boat, as far as Waisissa, where I met an old acquaint-
ance. This was Yova, the chief of a village overlooking
the little bay on the western side of the island. From him
I obtained two recruits. Five years before this Yova

56 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

had been a powerful chief, dividing the sovereignty of
the beach with Kauass, another headman. Now he was
obliged to live in the bush, having been driven there by
misfortune in war. " Spanish Charley," a South Ameri-
can half-breed, had been another resident on the beach
during the period of Yova's supremacy there. He like-
wise was constrained to leave, going to Aoba, where he
was murdered by the natives in 1874.

Leaving Port Resolution, I took ship and boats on
northward, to a spot about three miles from Waisissa,
where I found good anchorage off the " black rocks " of
Nimatahin. The natives in the vicinity of this place
have the reputation of being the wildest in Tanna I. I
was tolerably fortunate there. Proceeding thence I next
visited the north coast, dropping anchor beneath a village
called Itoa. I was obliged to go so close in shore here
to get bottom that I had barely room to swing to the
anchor. It would have been an ugly place to have
been caught in, if the natives had proved hostile, and
had chosen to try the range of their guns from the cliffs.

From Itoa to Blackbeach, and thence to Sangali, com-
pleted our work on the coasts of Tanna I. We then
directed our attention to Erromanga I., where, however,
we drew blank along the whole length of the west coast.

We next touched at Vila, in Sandwich I. There I
engaged three men, but, unluckily, left the place too
soon. A few hours after we had sailed, six men came
down from the bush with the intention of joining. They
were quickly picked up by another vessel — the Lady
Darling, I think — which called at Vila the day after our
departure.

I put into Havannah Harbour to take wood and water
on board, but obtained no recruits there. Thence we
cruised northward, seeking recruits at most of the vil-
lages in the islands visited during the previous voyage,
and with considerable success.

At Paama I. we met with hostilities again. Our boats

HOSTILITIES AT MERRABWEI. 57

were greeted with a volley, which fortunately hurt no
one. The people of Merrabwei also made another
attempt to seize the recruiting boat. On this occasion,
however, the mate — who was in charge of her along with
the G.A. — had not ventured close in to the beach, but
kept the boat well away, though in shallow water. As
she was thus lying to, a party of natives waded towards
her from the beach, others remaining partly hidden
among the trees near the shore. There were no women
or children to be seen, although the village was not more
than a hundred yards distant. It was also apparent that
the waders carried no commodities to trade with, but
that all of them were fully armed.

As the savages slowly approached, wading through
water that rose to their knees, the boatmen gave a short
pull every now and then. The waders, following the
movements of the boat, were drawn further and further
out, until they had got so far from the beach that they
were waist-deep in the water, while the boats were be-
yond the range of any arrows that might be discharged
from the forest. At length the attacking party got tired
of this game and made a rush on the boat, brandishing
their tomahawks, clubs, and spears. However, our
people were too wary for them. A vigorous stroke or
two sent the boat well away out of their reach, and spears
thrown after it missed their mark. A couple of shots
from the white men's rifles quickly sent the whole crowd
splashing and scuttling back to dry land and the cover
of the trees.

This incident made it evident to us that nothing was
to be obtained at Merrabwei but hard knocks. I there-
fore took the ship round to the other side of the point,
and anchored her. In the evening two couples — hus-
bands and wives — joined us there. They were Merra-
bwei people, and their friends would certainly have
stopped them from coming to us, had their intention
been known. We also engaged two " bush men " at this

58 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

place. They came from the very centre of the island,
so they said.

At Lakarere, Aurora I. — as we happened to have two
or three natives of the island on board — a visit was made
to the waterfalls, which give the place its English name.
There are two of them, and these are not alike in char-
acter.

The northern fall, which we came to first, is not visible
from the beach or from the bay. The water rushes out
from a mountain gorge overhung by dense forest growth.
Falling over the edge of a precipice, it descends upon
two great projecting rocks, which divide its mass, and
lower down, upon a huge rocky shelf. Over this it
flows in a thin clear sheet of falling water, till broken
again below. The whole contour of the fall suggests a
woman's dress — the glistening sheet being the skirt, the
dark points of rock and white spray reminding one of
ornaments and lace. We named it " The Bridal Robe
Fall."

The other fall is at little distance to the right of this
one. It consists of a single stream of water, about four
feet wide, which rushes down a steep slope of slippery
rock. From the appearance of the water-worn rocks
edging these falls, I fancy there must be a tremendous
rush of water after heavy rains.

Leaving the falls we made a circuit through the forest
to a village about a mile northward of our anchorage.
There I obtained some slips of different varieties of
croton. Planted in boxes, these struck root and throve
wonderfully on board. Subsequently they figured in the
public gardens at Maryborough, together with numerous
other plants which I had brought from the islands, and
deposited there, from time to time.

Though situated on the top of a hill, looking down
on the sea, the village appeared terribly damp, overhung
and surrounded, as it was, by large trees. There were
a dozen rude huts, one of them larger than any of the

A SING-SING GROUND.

59

others. They consisted merely of a thatched roof,
sloping to an insignificant wall, not more than two feet
in height. In an open space at one end of the village,
stood half a dozen native drums — hollow logs, having
an opening cut in one side — planted on end in the
ground. This was the " sing-sing " ground, where
dances and festivities were carried on.

Descending a rough and narrow path down the pre-
cipitous face of the hill, we waded through a muddy taro
patch or cultivation. In the middle of this grew a huge
croton bush, planted there to keep off evil spirits from
the garden. We thence regained the creek, getting back

DRUMS IN THE " SING-SING" GROUND.

to the boats without having heard any poisoned arrows
whistle about our heads — a danger one had often to
risk in those days.

Some years later a mission station was established at
Lakarere, by the Rev. — Bice.

Sailing on southward I next visited Ambryrn and Api
Is. without result, and finally anchored, one afternoon,
under the lee of Tongoa I. The mate, who now took
command of the boats and did the recruiting along-
shore, thought that Tongoa would yield no boys to us,
judging by the attitude of the natives on the previous
voyage. The G.A. held a like opinion, in consequence
of which I visited the beach myself. Hardly had my

60 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

boat touched the sand, when a tall man, holding a gun
in his hand, quietly stepped into her, and stood calmly
looking at the crowd on shore. Two others quickly
followed him.

These men told us they were returned labourers from
Queensland. They had been at home for about a month,
and were now determined to undertake a second term of
service, though in opposition to the wishes of their tribe.

The example set by Bisop — as he styled himself — and
his two " mates " was imitated by eight men and a couple
of women next morning, making thirteen in all from
Tongoa I. " But," remarked the mate when I brought
them off, " you never know when you have 'em."

The presents given to the friends of these recruits
were more liberal than was customary. Ten fathoms of
calico, white or coloured, were allowed for each indi-
vidual, as well as pipes and tobacco.

Our next call was at Tongariki, an island surmounted
by a lofty peak, lying seven or eight miles south-east of
Tongoa. There I anchored for one night, recruiting
two men and a woman — the wife of one of them.

At Havannah Harbour we took in wood and water.
Several other labour vessels lay there at the same time,
and H.M.S. Sappho came in for a night or two after-
wards, following me round to Vila, whither I went next.

A white settler, who was a British subject, had died
recently at Vila ; and some natives of Espiritu Santo,
who had been his labourers, were still there. These
now wished to engage with me for Maryborough. Mr.
Hebblewhite, to whom the deceased employer had been
in debt, heard of this. He immediately put in an objec-
tion to my engaging these men, claiming their services
as belonging to the estate — which would have been
simply treating them as slaves. The matter was referred
to the captain of the Sappho, who declined to listen to
the claim asserted by Mr. Hebblewhite. I therefore en-
gaged the Santo men as recruits, with one. exception.

DRIFTING ASHORE. 61

This one, a youngster called Puck — whose native name
was Massan — I shipped for service on board the Stanley
as cabin boy. He was to remain with me until dis-
charged at his home, or till he was old enough to land
in Queensland as a recruit, if he desired to do so.

At that time most labour vessels carried a youngster
to act as cabin boy. Subsequently, however, the prac-
tice was forbidden ; the authorities choosing to consider
it a breach of the Polynesian Act.

Having shipped over ninety recruits, I now resolved
to return to Queensland, and accordingly beat down to
the south.

One afternoon we were about two miles distant from
the western coast of Erromanga I. As the ship seemed
to be in perfect safety — heading southward with a light
wind off the land — I laid myself down on the settee in
the deck-house to read, and presently dropped off to
sleep. I had no sooner closed my eyes than the wind
fell off, veered round, and then came up in light puffs
from the west. The mate, who was attending too in-
tently to some work on deck, trimmed the yards, and
then carelessly allowed the ship to drift close in to the
land, a few miles south of Dillon's Bay.

The first intimation of our danger that I received was
given by a native, who hailed us from the shore. Opening
my eyes and looking out of the cabin door, I saw green
trees not two hundred yards from the ship ! I jumped
right out on deck ; and then, for a moment, I thought
the Stanley s career was ended. Not three ship- lengths
away from the port-quarter I saw a line of small breakers
beating against the face of a level terrace of coral, eight
feet in height. This extended back to the foot of a
precipice which rose nearly three hundred feet, and was
crowned with dense forest stretching up towards the
interior until lost to view. To seaward a smooth glisten-
ing sheet of water extended far away, till a dark, quiver-
ing line showed where the trade-wind from overhead

62 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

was rushing down upon the surface. Now and then a
" cat's paw " ruffled the glassy expanse, setting inward
towards the shore, catching our sails, and gently aiding
the ground-swell to drift us, broadside on, into the line
of breakers.

" Down with the boats ! " I shouted. A rattle of
blocks, splashing and commotion, immediately succeeded.
Then, with the two boats working ahead, each towing
a long line made fast to the jib-boom on either side —
which lines were always hung there, coiled up, in readi-
ness for such an emergency — I got the ship's head
round to seaward. Meanwhile, on board, we clewed up
the square sails and flattened in the sheets of the fore-
and-aft canvas.

Now ensued a hard fight for safety. The eight oars-
men pulled their level best, the long steering oars scull-
ing in aid of them ; yet not an inch away from the rocks
could they haul the vessel, a powerful current drifting
her slowly southward along the coast.

For half an hour or more the swell, with the eddying
puffs of wind, neutralized all our efforts. At last — oh,
welcome sight ! — a short spit of sunken reef showed up
just under our keel. Against the extreme point of this
we dropped our anchor. I say against the point ; for,
in truth, the anchor hung from our bows with a taut,
perpendicular cable, resting along the sloping side of the
reef rather than upon it. The ship's stern lay in little
more than two fathoms of water, while an active man
could have jumped from the taffrail into the breakers.
Thus we remained for more than two hours, it being
impossible to get away until the clouds had cleared from
off the land, and till the true trade-wind had reached us.

In the meantime some fifty of the natives, all armed,
assembled on the rocks astern and close to us. The
talking and shouting we could hear all along the shore
and cliffs indicated, too, that these only formed a part of
the crowds assembled. They were fully aware there

A WELCOME BREEZE. 63

was a very fair chance of a shipwreck, and, no doubt,
were well disposed to do all they could to contribute
towards such a desirable result. So, when one of them
inquired whether we meant to lie there all night, he was
promptly informed that we did, as we considered it a
good locality in which to buy yams and "boy."

It was possible — even probable — that if they had been
told we should leave at the first opportunity, they would
have commenced hostilities forthwith to prevent our
doing so. And what nice pot-shots at us they might
have had, looking right down upon our deck !

At last, just as the sun was setting, when most of the
savages had gone home for the night, a puff of wind
blew off the land, coming down a small gully not far
off on the south, and making a long tongue of dark
water across the glassy surface. Our loose sails shook,
and filled as fast as they were sheeted home. The boats
were again sent ahead with the tow-lines, but were no
longer necessary, for the breeze came down in a hurry
from the cliffs astern of us. Away we went, out of
danger, with the anchor hanging low under the bows.
Nor did we heave to until we had gained two miles off
shore, when I rounded to and hoisted the boats aboard.

Another day was spent at Tanna I., though without
profit. I then sailed for Maryborough, rounding the
southern end of New Caledonia, as on my last voyage.
I arrived in port about the first of December, passing the
Great Queensland lying at anchor off the Fairway buoy
in Hervey Bay, outward bound. It was the last occa-
sion on which she was destined to sail these waters.
She left England, subsequently, for Australia, but was
never heard of again.

During my absence on this voyage, the labour
schooner, Bobtail Nag — Captain Murray, Mr. Slade,
G.A. — had arrived at Bowen, in Northern Queensland.
She had on board one John Renton, a native of Ren-
frewshire, Scotland.

64 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Some eight years before, this man had been a seaman
on board a whaling ship. Whilst cruising in the vicinity
of the Kingsmill Is., he, with several others of the crew,
had deserted the ship in one of her boats. After drift-
ing and sailing for several weeks, undergoing horrible
privations from hunger and thirst, from which some of
them died, the survivors landed on Manoba I., a small
appendage of Malayta I. in the Solomon group.

Renton's companions soon died or were killed by the
savages. His own life was saved by a chief named
Kabbau, who took him away from Manoba to his own
village on the mainland, treating him as his adopted son.

WEAPONS, NEW HEBRIDES.

Renton lived with Kabbau nearly eight years. Dur-
ing that time a vessel was wrecked, or seized, at Manoba
I. He heard reports of a white man living on that islet,
and subsequently of his rescue by a passing vessel — the
crew of which never dreamed that another white man,
requiring like assistance, was dwelling only seven or
eight miles away.

At last the Bobtail Nag hove in sight. However,
there was a strong party in the village opposed to Ren-
ton's going. So, it was only after considerable delay
and difficulty that he was able to send a short message
to Captain Murray. This he scrawled with some native
pigment on a piece of wood — a fragment of an old canoe.

WRECK OF THE " LYTTONA." 65

By means of what seemed to the natives valuable pre-
sents, Captain Murray effected his release. The piece
of wood with Renton's message on it is still preserved in
the Brisbane Museum. He himself entered the Queens-
land Government service as a G.A. in the labour trade,
serving in which capacity he was killed at Aoba I. in
1878.

When I was in Maryborough, waiting for a licence to
sail on a third recruiting voyage, -news arrived of the
wreck of the labour schooner Lyttona — Captain Rosen-
gren, Mr. Alliott, G.A., with forty-five recruits — at Hada
Bay, on the north-west coast of Christoval I., one of the
Solomon group. All hands were saved, arriving at Bris-
bane in December.

CHAPTER IV.

THIRD VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1875-6.

Masters and recruiters — Head-money — / sail from Mary-
borough— Ashore on a mud-bank — Aneiteum I. — Mission-
ary rule — Consequences of it — -Decrease of population —
Causes — Boatmen — Tanna I. — We are fired at — The hurri-
cane season — Cyclones — A determined recruit — Calms —
Effects of the heat — Women bolting — An ugly crowd — Cham-
pion Bay — A skirmish — A coward on board — A hot corner
— Mallicolo I. — Assemblage of natives — Young recruits —
" Train up the child " — A contrast — Tommy's I. — The chief
Aipanpan — Conical heads — How they are shaped — Examin-
ing a child — Our G.A. frightens the women — His exterior
man — His height measured — Gods or sign-posts ? — Dis-
charging boatmen — An angry missionary — Variable currents
— The Queensland public and Kanaka labour — Magisterial
inquiry — " You did wrong, sir!" — Party politics and native
wrongs.

DURING my two previous recruiting voyages I had sel-
dom taken part in the actual work of the boats between
the shore and the ship. I did sometimes leave the ship,
but only from curiosity, or to supervise the engagement
of recruits by the G.A. before I received them on board.
During the first voyage I had acted as sailing master
only ; while on the second, I was the legal recruiter,
having, before we sailed, signed a bond for ^"500, with
one surety, under the provisions of the Imperial " Kid-
napping Act," 1872. This I did on every succeeding
voyage I undertook in the Queensland Polynesian
labour trade.

At that period it was customary for the ship-owner to
pay the master, in addition to his regular monthly wages,

65

HEAD MONEY. 67

a small sum per head for all recruits brought to Queens-
land and passed as fit for service by the medical inspec-
tor. On my second voyage I had received five shillings
for each recruit, which I divided with the mate, as he did
the boating work and engaged the recruits on shore.

The practice of paying " head-money " was stopped
loth March, 1884, by the " Act to Amend the Pacific
Island Labourers' Act of 1880," and "the prosecution of
the duties of 'recruiter' by the master" was prohibited
by the " Additional Regulations" of June, 1887.

On the two following voyages, the particulars of which
I am about to relate, I had a mate with no previous ex-
perience of South Sea Islanders. I engaged him solely
because he was a sober man, a rarity then in the labour
trade. Consequently, I was obliged " to do my own
recruiting," as we termed it, leaving the vessel in his
charge during my absences ashore.

I think the Queensland Government need not have
legislated against "head-money." No doubt it seemed
likely to induce evil practices, such as kidnapping ; but,
on the other hand, good wages and competition would be
just as likely to stimulate enterprise in precisely the same
way. When '' head-money " was abolished, masters'
wages — formerly ^15 to ^20 per month — at once rose
to ,£28 and ^35, whilst recruiters got ^4 to ^5 per
month over and above their ordinary wages.

I sailed from Maryborough on Dec. 20, this time
without any cabin passengers. My former G.A. was
gone too, and another had been appointed in his place.
Christmas Day was spent at anchor at the White Cliffs.
The day after that we weighed anchor and stood for
Fraser I. Straits and Wide Bay bar. A breeze was
blowing fresh from the northward, and it mattered little
whether I went out by the northern or the southern
channel.

I did not get out without an accident, however.
Hardly an hour after the anchor was tripped, I called

68 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

out " starboard " to the man at the wheel. But he hap-
pened to be " suffering" a recovery " from a drunken
spree over-night, and so put the helm hard-a-port, run-
ning the vessel on to a sandbank. There she lay for
ten hours, part of which time we spent prowling about in
the mud picking up oysters. Then, next morning, before
I had been an hour under way, the wind suddenly
failed me, and, nearly all that day, we roosted on another
bank and ate more oysters.

A newspaper man in Maryborough heard of this, and
for more than a week kept reporting " Stanley still
ashore in Great Sandy Island (Fraser I.) Straits."

I finally got off, crossing Wide Bay bar next day.
Nine days later we were at anchor in Inyang Harbour,
on the south-west coast of Aneiteum I., the southernmost
of the New Hebrides.

Aneiteum I. rises nearly 3,000 feet above sea-level.
To judge from its appearance, it is not so fertile as
the neighbouring island of Tanna. The inhabitants
are all Christians, having been converted many years ago
by Presbyterian missionaries, who, in fact, rule the whole
island. No traders have ever settled on the main island,
though a whaling-station, employing only mission boys,
was then located at Annau-unse, a small boat-harbour on
the north-western coast.

There used to be another whaling and trading station
belonging to Captain Paddon, in the little Inyang I.,
which lies within the harbour. Paddon, when he re-
moved his establishment to New Caledonia, abandoned
this station to a Mr. Underwood, who had been one of
his employes. I found the islet deserted, only the ruins
of a house remaining on it. A tidal or storm- wave had
flooded it a year or two previously, and had swept every-
thing away.

The missionaries have had full and unopposed scope
in governing this island ; but whether the natives are
any happier than they used to be, remains an open ques-

UNDER MISSIONARY RU1.E. 69

tion. One thing is certain — they are dying out ! The
population is not so numerous by two-thirds, at least, as
it was when the inhabitants were first converted to
Christianity. Yet this decrease has not occurred in con-
sequence of emigration ; for the missionaries have not
permitted that, except in very rare instances. Fighting
has been put a stop to also, and I remember hearing a
missionary say that murder had been unknown in the
island for more than fifteen years previous to this time.

A similar decrease of population has occurred else-
where, as in the Hawaiian Is. especially. There, in
1877-8, the native government was inviting Maoris from
New Zealand to take up lands in the group, in the hope
of thereby resuscitating the native population.

After more than twenty years' experience of South
Sea Island people and races, I have come to a certain
conclusion, which is, that missionary Christianity has
operated to kill them off as surely, perhaps as quickly, as
have traders' guns and rum. It has put the wolf into a
cage, so to speak, where he has simply pined away, be-
coming a miserable, sneaking, pitiable wretch. Mission-
ary teachings have also abolished club-law as an element
of domestic life ; but they have failed to inculcate the
virtue of chastity in the minds of Polynesian women, and
promiscuous intercourse between the sexes will suffice
to destroy any race.

I visited Aneiteum for the purpose of obtaining boat-
men, in which I succeeded. The resident missionaries
of Inyang Harbour were absent during my stay there. I
was therefore able to engage four young men who had
learned how to " pull a good oar" in the whaling-boats.
But, alas ! instead of the plucky savages their fathers
used to be, I found these fellows nervous and easily
frightened. Luckily for me, on one occasion, their prac-
tice enabled them to pull well instinctively when running
away. If I had been obliged to fight, they would have
been of no use at all.

70 THE SOUTH SEA J SLANDERS.

I anchored here on the northern side of the harbour,
opposite the mission station. The harbour is a conveni-
ent one when " the trades " are blowing, but lies open to
the north-west. Water is obtainable near the mission.
When leaving the harbour to go northward, mariners
should be careful of a dangerous outlying reef not far
from it on the western coast.

There is a boat passage on the eastern side of the
harbour, through which the master of a barque — either
in ignorance of the proper entrance, or through stress of
weather — once ran his vessel without injury, more by
good luck than by good management.

From Aneiteum I proceeded to Port Resolution,
Tanna I., where the first recruits were engaged. One of
these ran away from his friends, shouting and jeering at
them when he arrived on board, and found I was getting
under way to leave the place. The " pay " was taken
ashore by the G.A., who landed a white trader, who
resided there, at the same time.

In the dusk, as the G.A. was pulling back to the ship,
which was lying to outside, a shot, which just missed the
boat, was fired from the missionary's garden, that gentle-
man being absent from home. The G.A. sent a bullet back
in reply, continuing on his way to the ship. The north-
eastern coast yielded us a few boys ; but, as the hurricane
season was now due, and the trade-wind becoming un-
steady, I did not delay there long. Thence I made for
Sandwich I. whilst I still had a fair wind, passing to the
east of Erromanga. Making but a short stay at Vila,
and then at Havannah Harbour, I ran down to Api
with the last good trade-wind we were to have that
season.

The months of January, February, and March are
termed, in this part of the world, the " Hurricane
Season." Some years later than this, however, I met
with a hurricane in December, and they have been
known to occur in November and in April. This year I

A DETERMINED RECRUIT. 71

was fortunate, though in place of hurricanes I had calms,
or exceedingly light winds. The only hard blow I en-
countered was on our return, between Tanna and Anei-
teum Is., when I think I must have been on the verge
of a cyclone. These storms, rotating from north to east,
from east to south, and so on round the compass, travel
in a south-easterly direction, the centre generally passing
westward of the New Hebrides.

On the west coast of Api I. we obtained a few recruits
whilst anchored at Ibo. Further north we got another
boy. The G. A. and I then judged it expedient to leave
that place, thankful to get away safely with even one.
The boy had been determined to go, showing fight when
his friends attempted to drag him out of the boat ; even
snatching up a boatman's carbine, and threatening to
shoot at them. After that the crowd retreated to the
cover of the trees, some of the men waving their hands
and shouting to us to go away — a request we quickly
complied with, more through regard for our own skins
than from any particular wish to please them.

The calms were now frequent and protracted. Some-
times the ship remained at anchor for two or three days
for want of wind. Usually there was a light easterly
breeze for a few hours in the evening. At other times
we were becalmed out in the open sea, miles away from
the land, broiling under the " Bengal Tiger " (the sun),
and drifting slowly westward. This necessitated a long
pull ashore for the boats during the sweltering heat of
the forenoon. Towards evening the mate had to work
the ship in our direction with the light evening breeze,
to pick us up.

One morning, I remember, the G.A. was unable to
accompany me — the only occasion on which he missed
during the voyage — for the sun had affected his head the
day before. I left the ship with the two boats, having a
pull of several miles before I reached a long sandy beach,
on the south coast of Ambrym. It was about i p.m.

73 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

when I reached the shore, and the ship was quite out of
sight over the horizon. So great was the heat of the
sun that a carbine, planted nearly upright in the bows,
exploded as we were on our way, simply through the
sun's heat upon the barrel. The surface of the ocean
was like a sheet of glass, not even a catspaw to be
seen.

When we reached the beach, a crowd of men, women,
and children came round the boat, the former leaving
their spears and other weapons at a distance. The usual
noisy chaffering for yams, and so forth, ensued, and about
a hundredweight was purchased, principally for beads
and tobacco.

A boy then offered to engage, and a long knife, a
"fantail" tomahawk, beads, tobacco and pipes having
satisfied his friends, he got into my boat, from which he
was transferred to the covering boat as it backed in to
receive him.

A destitute French sailor, whom I had picked up at
Vila Harbour, was this day steering the covering boat.

Two other natives — a man and his wife — also wished
to come, but the man was forcibly removed from the
beach by his countrymen, his wife following him. Just
as I was shoving off, another boy made a rush into the
water, grasped the gunwale, and, with my help, got into
the boat. Some of the tribe wanted to prevent his leav-
ing. However, after a lot of jabbering and noisy quarrel-
ing, they were over-ruled by the majority, and the boy
remained where he was, the usual " pay " being given in
return. I then pulled westward along the shore.

About a mile further on, we saw a couple of women
trying to bolt ; but their countrymen were too vigilant,
and, after a smart race, they were caught and dragged
back into the forest This happened close to a rocky
point crowned with trees, where I noticed a quantity
of columnar basalt near the water's edge. Beyond this
point a small bay, where there was a stony beach, opened

SKIRMISH A T CHAMPION BA Y. 73

to the north-west. A party of about a dozen men hailed
us here, and I backed the boats in to interview them.

These fellows did not bear the friendly appearance of
the crowd I had just left. No women or children were
present, and nothing was offered for sale.

All had firearms — in a few cases, rifles — tomahawks
and clubs. Their bearing was so suspicious that I got
away as soon as I decently could, after a short conversa-
tion. Some of them, I noticed, were looking at the
steersman of the other boat with anything but friendly
eyes, and I heard the word " man-o-wee-wee " (" oui, oui,"
i.e. Frenchman) uttered several times. Others, during
our stay there, kept within the shade of the trees, and did
not come near us.

I then went about a mile further on, to a low point,
beyond which was a low black rock, with a crowd of
natives on it. They had lit a fire to make a smoke —
which is the signal they wish to trade — as soon as they
saw us. Pulling round the rock, into what is now called
Champion Bay, I backed my boat to the beach, in order
to beodn trading-.

o *>

The natives seemed friendly. About a dozen women,
with bundles and baskets of yams, and several children,
were squatted on the sand, under the thick bushes
which overhung the beach, about twelve yards away.

I had been there about half an hour, and had bought
all they had to sell, when a boy offered to engage with
me, and, getting into the boat, sat down close to me in
the stern-sheets.

I had just handed the knife and tomahawk to a man
who was standing in the water, near the boat, and was
giving him a handful of tobacco, when, suddenly, the
rest of the party — both the men near us and the women
on the beach — rushed away yelling, while half a dozen
muskets exploded close at hand. Two bullets whizzed
close to my ears, one on each side, others tearing up the
water about the covering boat, splitting the blade of one

74

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of the oars. But it was the worst shooting I ever wit-
nessed, for not a man of us was touched.

My first impulse was to shoot the man alongside, who
was now cowering down in the water ; but remembering
the men I had spoken to in the other bay, I surmised
it was they who had fired on us, not the party we had
been trading with.

A vigorous thrust of the steering-oar sent the boat
away from the beach, and my fellows laid back and
pulled with a will.

A bit of fringe reef, with a break of the sea on it, here
and there, was in the way. Luckily, there was just water

A HOT CORNER.

enough to enable the boat to graze over it. Meanwhile,
the scoundrels kept banging away at us ; but every shot
missed, while I fired back at the puffs of smoke coming
out of the bushes. As for my recruit, I had him safe
between my legs.

Before we got out of range, I saw the bow oarsman of
the other boat pull in his oar, topple over the bows into
the water, and hang with his hands to the gunwale, al-
most stopping the boat, of course. At first I thought he
was hit, but presently perceived he was only frightened.
I was just putting my last cartridge into the breech of

ASSEMBLAGE OF NATIVES. 75

my rifle, and, instead of sending it ashore, it went so
near Sam's head, that he was glad to scramble back into
the boat and resume his work.

A light breeze from south-east had been blowing for
the last hour, and had brought the schooner up within a
mile of us. We were soon on board of her, glad to
escape with nothing worse than a good scare.

I was afterwards informed by Captain McLeod, a
Noumea trader, that these fellows had, for some months
back, attacked every boat that came within reach of
their bullets.

Next morning I anchored in Port Sandwich, Mallicolo
I., and I thought that here also we were likely to get into
trouble ; for, all that day, bands of natives were seen
walking along the beach towards the principal village.
They appeared to be assembling there in large numbers,
and, as they were all fully armed, painted, and feathered,
and especially since no women seemed to accompany
them, we surmised that they contemplated hostilities to-
wards us. Perhaps we were mistaken ; at any rate, no
trouble occurred while we lay there, or during the next
two days.

Soon after I had anchored, a canoe full of men and
boys came alongside — on a tour of inspection, apparently.
One of them, named Jack, a returned labourer from Fiji,
who could speak a mixture of English and Fijian, ex-
plained that the men of the neighbouring tribes were
assembling at a large village to hold a " sing-sing," or
feast. This may have been the truth ; but if it were,
it is rather strange we never heard the drums or choruses
whilst we lay there.

There proved to be little need to leave the ship. I
made one cruise round the harbour, taking the boats some
distance up the little river Erskine. On the second
morning of our stay, our acquaintance, Jack, offered
himself as a recruit, bringing two others with him.
Wnen I sailed I had nine youths on board, two or three

76 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of whom, I acknowledge, were legally too young to be
recruited, being evidently under the age of sixteen. But,
at that time, I knew there would be no difficulty in get-
ting them passed as fit by the immigration agent at
Maryborough, although I should not have cared to try it
on in later years.

In order to train the Polynesian to work, and to make
him of some use in the world, it is necessary to commence
a,t an early age. At sixteen he is a man, with all his
savage habits rooted in him. When middle-aged he
cannot be altered, except for the worse. Take him away
from savagery as a child, and you can make him what
you like.

When we got back to port, these young boys were all
engaged as house servants — an occupation they were
allowed to fill, notwithstanding the outcry against it in
Queensland. Three or four years afterwards, I met two
of them in Maryborough. Their employer was staying
at the Royal Hotel, on a visit, and had brought them
to town with him. I failed to recognize them, when one
bade me " Good-morning, Captain" — in pure English.

Instead of the dirty, pot-bellied little wretch, who
climbed up on to the ship, with drops of water trickling
off his greasy hide — for he had swum off to the ship to
engage — grinning, yet scared at his own temerity, with-
out a good point about him except his big bright eyes,
I now saw a quiet, self-possessed, well-made Kanaka,
wearing dark clean clothes. Had it not been for his
brown skin, I should have taken him for a white man,
and a decent-looking one at that. I am certain no
mission-station on the islands ever produced a more
trustworthy, civilized specimen of humanity than that
lad. Nor was his case an exceptional one.

With a light wind from north-east, I beat out of Port
Sandwich, rounded the Maskelyne Is., and worked the
south coast of the island, anchoring off Arambagh, or
" Tommy's Island.'' The veritable Tommy himself

CONICAL HEADS.

77

came on board, acting as interpreter, until I became
acquainted with Aipanpan, a " big chief" residing some
three miles east of Arambagh, on the main island near
the large village of Assagh.

Aipanpan has since gone the way of nearly all flesh in
these islands, having been knocked on the head by his
neighbours and enemies. At this time he ruled supreme
in the bight of the coast between the Maskelynes and
Timben, the point of land just beyond Lennurr I.
During the four or five days the ship lay here, this chief
slept on board and accompanied the G.A. and myself

MALLICOLO ISLANDER

in our boats ; Tommy, who had picked up a little English
in Fiji, being the interpreter between us.

In Port Sandwich, as well as on this coast, both the
G.A. and myself had remarked the extraordinary shape
of most of the heads of men and boys. They had very
retreating foreheads, the back part of the crown elongated
in a conical form, and the eyes protruding. This extra-
ordinary feature is attained by artificial means, adopted
in infancy.

One evening we landed on Lennurr I., where there
was then a small village of half a dozen mean huts. We
were sitting on a log, talking, through our interpreter,

73 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

with the few men living there, when a woman passed by
with an infant. She held it on her hip — not in her arms
like our women — supporting the child's head with one
hand.

A bandage round the child's head excited my curiosity.
I got up and walked towards her to examine it, thinking
that the child had met with some injury.

The mother, however, scuttled off to the huts as I
approached ; and Aipanpan had to put on his " big chief"
air, and order her to come back, before she would allow
me to examine her child.

It was a male child, not a year old, probably only a
few months. Around its head, just above the ears,
several bands of plaited bark were tightly wrapped, each
of them half an inch wide. These would effectually
prevent the skull from enlarging laterally. The top of
the head was covered with a black, semi-liquid substance,
having the appearance of tar, being also protected by
leaves. It was thus rendered so heavy that the child
could not hold it up without its mother's assistance.
The desired conical shape was already produced, and the
child's eyeballs protruded as if a shake of its head would
cause them to drop out.

The Mallicolo people consider this curious deformity
beautiful ; and, after all, how can we blame them ? Our
own women think a wasp-like waist the height of beauty,
although it often carries with it a temper to match, if
nothing worse.

The woman seemed to be in a terrible fright while I
was examining her dirty offspring. I believe she thought
I intended to eat it, and was glad to get it cut of my
clutches at last.

We visited Timben Point one day, and the village on
it, engaging three men there. We landed under the
shelter of the point, and were loitering near the boats,
when a crowd of men, women, and children suddenly ran
out from the bushes on to the beach. They evidently

OUR G.A. ASTONISHES THE NATIVES. 79

did not expect to come on us so quickly ; for, when they
saw the G.A. standing on the beach, within a few yards
of them, there was a yell and a general stampede into the
bush at the sight of him.

He certainly was, even among white men, a remark-
able object. He stood over six feet in height, possessed
decidedly red hair, including a rather full beard and
moustache, with a face burnt by the sun to the hue of a
brick. His under lip had suffered terribly from the heat,
and, to protect it, he had stuck a bit of brown paper on
it, like a small shelf. He always wore spectacles. His
rig consisted of a cloth cap adorned with a bunch of
feathers, stuck upright on one side ; a flannel singlet,
rather disreputable trousers, at the waist-belt of which
were slung a revolver and a sheath-knife ; and, to com-
plete all, a pair of immense blucher boots.

When our G.A. beamed on a mob of niggers with his
spectacles, he generally created a sensation.

The natives here were all rather undersized. At
Timben they wished to preserve some record of our
giant. So they persuaded him to stand upright against a
straight-stemmed tree, directing him to show how far he
could stretch his arm up the trunk above him. This he
complied with, and an active little warrior made a chop
with a long-handled tomahawk at the place where the
G.A.'s fingers extended to. Had not the latter dropped
his hand quickly, he would certainly have been shortened
by two or three inches.

At Tommy's Island, on the outskirts of the village,
there were numerous carved wooden posts, planted in the
ground in various places. They were made from the
stem of the fern-tree, which is plentiful in these islands.
I think they were intended to serve merely as orna-
ments, and were not " gods," as we at first supposed,
for the natives treated them with little reverence, and
were quite willing to part with a few to us, as they did,
for tobacco and beads.

So

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

From Arambagh, or Tommy's I., it was my intention
to have gone further along this coast, to South-west Bay.
However, as the light northerly winds that should have
prevailed then were wanting, clouds resting on the
mountain summits of the island, and calms prevailing
under the lee, I crossed over to Ambrym I. Taking
good care to avoid the scene of my late skirmish,
I worked back to the south, watering at Havannah
Harbour as usual. On the south coast of Sandwich I.
we picked up three recruits, one of them representing
himself to be a mission teacher from Aruntabau village.
I had now over ninety recruits on board, and thought it
time to return to Queensland. So, with a light northerly

CARVED POSTS — ARAMBAGH I.

wind, I steered for Aneiteum, in order to land my four
boatmen there.

There was one care off our minds this time, which
had troubled me so much during the former voyages.
Measles and dysentery, which had committed such
havoc among Kanakas, in their own islands, as well as in
Queensland, had apparently quite disappeared. When
passing Tanna we ran before a lively gale from north-
ward, with a confused sea and heavy rain squalls. Next
day I was almost becalmed, about four miles south-west of
Aneiteum, light airs occasionally coming from north-east.

My four Aneiteum boatmen received their pay, £2

AN ANGRY MISSIONARY. 81

per month, in '• trade," as they preferred to have it that
way. Tobacco, pipes, calico, knives and axes were
accordingly given to them in lieu of cash. They were
landed, after a long pull, by the mate and G.A. The
latter, on his return, informed me that the resident white
missionary was at home, and that he was very angry be-
cause four of his promising flock had accepted service in
a " slaver." He need not have been afraid of my visiting
his island again, to hire boatmen. Those I got there
were certainly good oarsmen, but in a " row " they were
not worth their salt.

The passage home was a long and tedious one, as the
wind was light and variable the whole way. Off the
south-eastern extremity of New Caledonia I found the
currents very variable, and, while delayed there for two
or three days by calm weather, I always found myself
at noon fifteen or twenty miles short of the position my
"dead reckoning" placed me in — at one time north, at
another south.

At this time the employment of Kanakas in Queens-
land was looked upon with great disfavour by a large
portion of the Queensland public ; particularly in the
southern portion of the colony. In the north, where the
white workmen could see that a cheap and servile labour
was absolutely necessary for the cultivation of sugar-cane
under a tropical sun, the traffic was viewed with more
favour. Shopkeepers, also, in the northern parts, were
favourable to it. For the islanders spent all their wages,
to the uttermost farthing, before leaving the colony ;
preferring a chest full of calicoes and beads, tobacco and
cutlery, to the hard cash which would be entirely useless
to them in their islands. The mining population, how-
ever, was dead against it, being afraid that the Polynesian
cheap labour might be introduced on the goldhelds : a
fear that political agitators on the opposition side took
good care not to allay — quite the reverse !

By the "Polynesian Act" of 1880, the employment

82 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of Polynesians in Queensland was restricted to certain
branches of agriculture only ; so that, with the exception
of the very few who had elected to remain in the colony
prior to the passing of that Act, as house servants or
in the mines, it became practically impossible to engage
them for other purposes.

A day or two after our arrival at Maryborough, a pre-
liminary inquiry was held by the police magistrate at his
office, concerning the attack on us at Ambrym I. No-
thing more came of it, however, although the P.M., who
was an avowed Anti-Kanaka-ite, seemed to consider
that I had done wrong in firing back at the natives.

" But you fired back, did you not ?" asked he.

" Yes, I fired back to flurry them and spoil their
shooting. It was done in self-defence."

" You did wrong, sir ; you did wrong ! " and he would
have made trouble for me, I dare say, had he been able
to do so.

Yet, apparently nobody had disapproved when " The
Brisbane Courier," six weeks before our arrival in port,
announced that, while ascending the Fly River, New
Guinea, in the s.s. Ellangowan, in opposition to the wish
of the inhabitants, Mr. Chester, a Queensland police
magistrate, and the Rev. Mr. MacFarlane, a missionary,
had fired on the natives, defeating and driving them
away, and had broken up one of their canoes !

But then, neither of the political parties of the day
were much interested in those proceedings :—

There was no money in it !

CHAPTER V.

FOURTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1876.

/ leave Maryborough in April — Tanna and Sandivich Is. — Meet
with the Sibyl — Her luck — Pentecost I. — Daly — BeacJimen
and bushmen — Dragging the anchor — Batnapni — Espiritu
Santo I. — Haiss and Mavir Is. — Malvat Bay — A cool
customer — Engagement of a sorceress — Native names — A
" coo- ee" from the beach — Easy recruiting — Tea and satisfac-
tion— Runaways — Tlie chase — Recaptured — Levatleluldum —
Threatened hostilities — "All's well that ends well!" —
Lammen I. — The chiefs prevent us from engaging men —
Departure and retitrn — A rival recruiter — My success and
gratification — The Lady Darling has no such luck ! — Sand-
ivich I. — Homeward — Recruits wonder at the lighthouse —
The horse and his rider — Arrival in port — The Dancing
Wave — The massacre at Gala — Escape of Broad — His
rescue — H.M.S. Barracouta sent to inflict punishment —
Action stopped by missionaries — Effects of a planters
bankruptcy — Polynesian claims and the Act of 1876 —
Murders elsewhere — A false report — Vessels in the labour
trade.

I SAILED from Maryborough again in the middle of
April, having a new G.A. on board. I had a long pas-
sage across to the New Hebrides, beating up against
head winds. At last, one evening, we sighted Amedee
light, on the reefs outside the harbour of Noumea, the
capital of New Caledonia. I ran thence with a strong
current, setting to windward along and outside of the
barrier reefs, which helped me considerably.

At VVaisissa and at Itoa, Tanna I., some recruits
joined ; and then we ran down to Sandwich I., anchor-
ing in Havannah Harbour, to obtain wood and water as

83

84 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

well as boatmen. I engaged four men there in that
capacity — natives of Protection I.

This port I left by the smaller ship's channel on the
north-west. Just outside it I "spoke" and boarded the
Sibyl, of Maryborough — Captain Taylor, Mr. Kirby G.A.
She had "made a haul " at Pentecost I., and being now
" full up," was returning home. While cruising off the
north side of Ambrym I., the Sibyl's jib-boom had been
carried away one night by a violent squall, and less than
half an hour after that her main-boom had been badly
injured. In order to repair damages properly, Captain
Taylor had sought for an anchorage on the lee side of
Pentecost I., and had had to sail some distance northward
before he found one to suit his purpose.

Hitherto we had been in the habit of considering
Pentecost I. as rather a poor place for recruiting. It
appeared now, from the accounts of Taylor and Kirby,
that the natives there were eager to leave home, instead
of the contrary. In one anchorage the Sibyl had lain for
three entire days. During the first, a few natives were
spoken to on the beach ; during the second, three men
were engaged ; while, on the third, thirty-six were re-
ceived on board, making up the full complement the
ship was licensed to carry.

Such news was too good to be neglected. So, as no
recruiting work was possible that day — the sun then sink-
ing fast — I hauled up to north-east and cleared the group
by passing between Muna and Mataso Is. Next morn-
ing I lay off" Daly's" beach, on the southern extremity
of Pentecost I. looking towards Ambrym I. Having
got hold of " Daly " himself — a native who had adopted
the name of a Sydney skipper with whom he had formerly
sailed — I took him on board as interpreter, and anchored
in South- West Bay.

The creek running into the head of the bay, near our
anchorage, divided the territory of the beach tribe from
that of another living up in the forest, styled by us

DRAGGING THE ANCHOR. 85

" bushmen." Daly took care to keep on his own side of
the creek when he landed ; the twenty or thirty bush-
men — who came down from the hills with some of their
women about an hour after I anchored — keeping as care-
fully to theirs. In fact, Daly would not have ventured
to have left the boat at all, had not a party of his own
tribesmen appeared on the scene.

I obtained a couple of men here, though with
difficulty. They were both bushmen, and could not be
induced to go on board until Daly and his crowd had
gone home, and until they were assured that the ship
would sail early next morning.

I worked the southern coasts of Pentecost I. for a
week, anchoring at Sile and Wannu, and obtained a fair
number of recruits. Still, I did not come in for such
luck as the Sibyl's people had done.

One afternoon I dropped anchor on a projecting ledge
of shore-reef — with four fathoms of water, but barely
room to swing — a little south of Batnapni Bluff, near the
village of Verramatmat. There I recruited two women.
At night the trade-wind came off the high land in heavy
gusts ; and about 10 p.m. the ship quietly dragged her
anchor off the coral shelf, and went to sea of her own
accord. Luckily, I chanced to come on deck, and dis-
covered the state of affairs before worse happened. For
the anchor watch, a thick-headed German, was whistling
up and down the deck, blissfully unconscious of it all.

Next morning I anchored in Batnapni Bay, soon dis-
covering from the natives that this was Taylor's late
anchorage. But I had not luck equal to his. Too many
men had gone away already, so the chiefs thought. In
consequence, I had to content myself with mere glean-
ings.

I then went over to Espiritu Santo I., seeking an an-
chorage on the lee side of Tetuba I., but without avail.
At last I espied a sunken ledge of the shore- reef jutting
out, on which I let go the anchor, keeping the topsail

86

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

sheeted home, to prevent the ship from swinging shore-
wards.

I worked this islet, but obtained only two men, and
they were runaways. So in the evening I weighed an-
chor again, and stood out to sea, as it was not a safe
place to lie in. The next three weeks were spent on the
eastern coast, only half a dozen more boys being recruited
there.

SHOOTING FISH — ESPIRITU SANTO I.

The coast of Espiritu Santo I. is composed entirely of
coral and coral rock. This becomes elevated to the
north of the point off which lies Tetuba, a small islet,
only a few feet above sea-level. The same formation
underlies the soil for some miles back into the interior,
until it meets the volcanic tufa of the mountains.

From Tetuba I sailed northward, past a low promon-
tory forming a large bay open to the same quarter.

A YOUNG RECRUIT. 87

Here there is a native village, called Benkula. The two
large islets, Haiss and Mavir, lie parallel to the coast,
north of Benkula Point ; and another very small one,
bearing only a few trees, lies a mile or so beyond Mavir.
There appears to be very deep water all round, except
between this little islet and Mavir.

I spent three weeks on this coast, and recruited only
eight men. So small a number was due, doubtless, to
the very wet weather we experienced, which, together
with unsteady winds, and a heavy swell setting in on the
coast, obliged us to keep the vessel a good distance away
from the shore when the boats were at work. The
natives have much more confidence in us when the
vessel is close at hand, especially if she is anchored.

But I was not done with Pentecost I. yet. Recollec-
tions of the thirty-six men recruited in one day by the
Sibyl still tempted me. So, having tried Lathi I. with
no success, I hauled up one evening, on the starboard
tack, and made a " long board " all night to north-east.
Next forenoon I tacked, as the trade- wind generally veers
to east in the daytime, and to south at night, and so
fetched the northern coast of Aurora I. I watered at
Narovorovo, keeping a bright look-out for the hostile
villagers at the far end of the northern beach. Thence
working south, I anchored in Malvat Bay for the first
time. There I lay for two nights, and was fairly successful.

The first recruit engaged at this place assumed a very
independent manner, though he was so young a lad that
I much doubt if he was quite as old as the statute re-
quired. I had pulled into the bay, chaffered with a mob
of natives, taken soundings with the lead, and was pull-
ing out again to bring the ship in to an anchorage, when
this youngster paddled up to us. He began by asking a
few questions about the ship, her destination, and so
forth, and was answered by a native of Pentecost, who
was acting as interpreter for me. Then he followed us
to the ship, making his cockle-shell of a canoe fast to one

S8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of the boats. Coming on board with us, he calmly pro-
ceeded to survey the whole ship, examining everything
on deck and below. Having concluded these investiga-
tions, apparently to his satisfaction, he condescended to
signify that it was his intention to accompany me. The
interpreter soon explained the agreement he was to enter
into, and his name was then put upon the list. His
friends made no objection subsequently. They received
the " pay " without a word, not even saying good-bye to
him, as far as one could see. The boy made friends
with Puck, who had no objection to employ him as an
assistant, notwithstanding that they could converse only
by signs.

This visit to Pentecost I. proved more successful than
my former one. I engaged fully thirty recruits there in
all. Among them was a woman that the tribe seemed
quite anxious to get rid of, but for what reason I was
unable to discover at the time. She was thin, certainly,
but she was young and in good health. Yet she seemed
just as eager to depart as was her tribe to get the " pay "
and be well rid of her. I subsequently ascertained that
she was supposed to be a witch, and had been suspected
of causing the death of a chief of her village. If I had
not accepted her, in all probability she would have been
killed. She rejoiced in the euphonious name of Metta-
wamamakan, which made an elegant addition to our
recruit list.

On this island, nine out of every ten women's names
are prefixed by the word Metta, while nineteen out of
twenty men's names begin with Tari or Tabbi.

While we lay at Batnapni, there was an appearance of
an approaching shift of wind one afternoon. I therefore
deemed it safest to get under way and dodge about all
night, as the anchorage was close to the shore, and was
so confined that it would have been a difficult matter to
have got out of it in the dark, with a foul wind. Accord-
ingly, towards sundown, the chain was hove short.

EASY RECRUITING. 89

As the hands were making sail, a " coo-ee " sounded
from the shore. This cry, the well-known Australian
signal, has been introduced into the islands by returned
labourers. Most of the natives who had been on the
beach all day, had now gone home to the hills ; and,
when I backed the boat in, I found only three grown
men and two small boys. One of the former wished to
engage as a recruit, so the interpreter discovered and
informed me.

Preliminaries were quickly adjusted. The new recruit
got into the boat, and the " pay," consisting of a knife,
a tomahawk, etc., was handed to the others on shore. I
then made signs to a second man, inviting him to accom-
pany us also. To my surprise he quietly handed his
tomahawk over to the remaining fellow, and stepped into
the boat. Another knife, tomahawk, etc., were passed
out.

Still the third man lingered at the boat's stern, the
boys keeping a few yards oft.

" You come too," I said to him, which was duly inter-
preted.

Very quickly he turned round, dumped the pay re-
ceived for the first two at the boys' feet, returned to the
boat, got in and sat down.

The lads were too young for recruits, even at that
time ; so I contentedly paid for the last man, and pulled
quickly off, fearing lest my recruits should change their
minds.

" By Jove !" I said to myself, "this is easy work. If
it was all like this, I'd depopulate the group, and then
come back and shift the islands themselves ! "

Now it appears that these three gentlemen had no real
intention of going to Queensland at all. However, they
did go, as we shall see.

As soon as we got on board they were examined by
the G.A., and their names — Kaipan was one ot them, I
think — were put on the list of recruits.

90 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Sail having been made during my absence, and the
anchor having been heaved up and secured, the boat was
hoisted in, and the ship allowed to drift off the land with
her topsail aback and stay-foresail to windward. Mean-
while we took our evening meal, which consisted of
dinner and tea rolled into one. We fared very well in
those little "hookers"; far better than in any other
sailing ships, big or little, that I have been aboard of.

As for the new recruits, they were all right, appar-
ently. With lighted pipes in their mouths, their blankets
over their arms or round their shoulders, they lounged
against the rail for awhile, and then disappeared — at any
rate, two of them did — down the main hatchway.

The sky was clouded over, and the land, two miles
away, appeared black and close to us. As the ship was
only drifting broadside on, and making no headway, I
fancy they must have thought we were still at anchor,
and that we were not three hundred yards from the
shore.

We had taken our meal on deck, as we usually did in
fair weather, the flat-topped skylight serving for a table.
Having finished, we were just filling our pipes for a com-
fortable smoke, when suddenly, borne on the light wind
off the land, there came a sharp yell, followed by other
broken cries.

" Runaways swimming off! " sung out some one for-
ward.

Down went the port boat with a rattle and splash, the
crew tumbling- into her as she descended. After them
I went, delighted at the idea of picking up half a dozen
recruits, perhaps.

The cries continued, as we pulled lustily in the direc-
tion they seemed to come from. Presently we found — not
the fugitives from the shore we had expected to see — but
a runaway from the ship, one of the three just enlisted,
thoroughly spent with his long swim. When I grasped
his wool under the boat's counter, the water actually

CATCHING A RUNAWAY. 91

bubbled in his throat as he tried to cry out ; and, so great
was the way on the boat, that he nearly dragged me over-
board, grabbing at my arm with both hands as energetic-
ally as I did at his wool.

I soon had him in the boat, where he laid himself down
to recover. The other boat had followed me, and, for a
time, we cruised round about, and in towards the land,
expecting that his two companions must have bolted like-
wise. Then we listened awhile, for it was now nearly
calm ; but nothing was to be heard. As for seeing any-
thing, it was as dark "as the inside of a cow."

When tired of this, we pulled back to the ship, and
had the satisfaction of finding the other two worthies
stowed away below. They seemed to have expected
violence, for one of them was armed with a rusty bayonet
which he had found " between decks," while the other
had secured a billet of firewood. These weapons I took
away from them, and then left them to sleep off their ill
humour, placing sentinels over both the fore and the main
hatches to prevent any further attempt at evasion.

This little dodge of first getting " trade," and then
deserting, was often tried on, too frequently proving
successful.

Less than a mile south of Bulhagh Bluff there is a
precipitous hill, below which extends a narrow strip of
boulder-strewn beach, bearing the name of Levatlelul-
dum. There some of us had a narrow escape from death
by poisoned arrows, as I shall now relate.

On this beach, one fine morning, a crowd of thirty or
forty men, headed by a grey-headed but active old chief,
had assembled near my boat. They were all armed with
spears, clubs, and poisoned arrows. Some women stood
watching us, at a little distance from the water. I per-
ceived that several boys were inclined to enlist, but were
rather frightened about it ; so of course I tried to do my
level best to encourage and persuade them.

The boat was lying with her iron-shod keel grating and

92 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

grinding on the shingle, while the natives were gathered
round me, trading away their yams and curios. The

G. A. was sitting in the stern-sheets beside me, and the
crew were all in their places.

Suddenly, without a word of warning, every savage

THREATENED HOSTILITIES. 93

in the group before me drew himself up and stood fixed
and motionless, with spear poised or bow stretched, the
whole array of points levelled straight at me. My heart
seemed to jump up into my throat, and all the hair I had
left on the top of my head fairly bristled up.

There was no getting out of it this time, and I must
acknowledge I was in a " blue funk."

Involuntarily my hand went up, palm from me, as a
sign of peace. I raised a smile on my countenance — a
pitiful one, I do not doubt — as I gasped out, " You
darned fool ! What for you want to fight ? "

The old chief and several of his men could understand
a little English.

I became aware, then, that the G.A. was drawing his
rifle out of the locker at my feet ; so I just put my foot
on it to prevent him from exposing it. I also felt that
the boat's crew had got hold of their guns. I think I
caught sight of the stroke oarsman's barrel. Putting
my other hand behind me, I privately motioned to them
to lay the guns down. This they did, and presently the
menacing spears and arrows were slowly lowered, though
still held ready for instant action.

After a little the old chief descended from a boulder
on which he had been standing, a few yards off, and,
coming close to the boat, shook hands with me and made
peace again.

This demonstration on the part of the natives had
been occasioned by my men, who had handled their
guns in consequence of seeing a native, near me, snatch
a small bag of tobacco out of the stern-sheets, and bolt
into the bush with it.

The chief was very angry, or, at any rate, pretended
he was. He sent after the thief, obli^inir him to restore

o o

the bag. Half of its contents had been abstracted, how-
ever ; but the reader may be assured I made no further
inquiries about it ; for we were overmatched, and were
decidedly in a tight place.

94 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Hardly had this matter been settled, when three men
made a rush into the boat. For a few moments, I
thought the threatened attack upon us had really begun.
I was tumbled over the G. A., momently expecting to feel
a tomahawk or a spear strike me. When I had picked
myself up, I found the rush had been made by three
would-be recruits, whose friends were unwilling they
should go. The old chief, however, consented to permit
of their departure ; so I handed over the " pay," and
thankfully returned to the ship.

Leaving Pentecost I., I next weathered Ambrym I.
There I made no call, as the natives along the western
coast were disposed to be hostile at that time. I paid
a passing visit to Paama L, going on thence to Api I.

Rather late one evening, I pulled in to Lammen islet,
which lies off Duane, the north-western corner of Api I.
There I engaged three men, and might have got more ;
but, unfortunately, I had not a sufficient number of mus-
kets in the boat wherewith to " pay " for them. I there-
fore pulled back to the ship, taking my three recruits on
board, and then returned to the islet with the required
muskets. It was dark by the time I got there. While
I was making the trip to and fro, the elders of the village
were informed of the departure of the three men I had
enlisted, disapproving of which they determined to spoil
my little game.

I pulled over the fringing reef, into a bight on the
south-eastern coast of the islet — the tide being well up-
and, getting close to the beach, held on to some over-
hanging branches. While in that position we could hear
a mob of natives squabbling on the shore not far oft.
Presently, one of the boatmen, a Paama man, told me he
overheard some of them proposing to fire into the boat,
so as to prevent further recruiting. Had they done so,
they would have had a fair shot at us out in the open,
whilst we could see nothing of them, hidden as they were
by the shadow of the trees. So, as quietly as possible,

CHIEFS OPPOSE RECRUITING. 95

we pulled away, expecting a volley every instant. How-
ever, we got back to the ship without that little treat,
much to our satisfaction.

Early next morning I took the ship close into the
land, and then pulled round the islet again, but without
getting a single man. The chiefs and old men walked
round the shore, following the course of our boats,
driving back all who showed any inclination to join us.
At last, after both parties were pretty well tired of this
work, it became evident that mischief would result, if I
persisted in my attempts. The chiefs called out to me,
" Go away ! " menacing us with their guns and spears.
So I pulled back to the ship, hoisted in the boats, and
ran down to windward, making for the Foreland.

An hour later a sail appeared in the south, bearing
down upon us. Thinking that the sight of another
vessel might deter the natives from attempting actual
hostilities, I went about and returned to Lammen, where
I hove to close under the lee of the islet.

I suppose that after seeing the Stanley depart, the
chiefs had relaxed their vigilance. For, when I backed
the topsail, three canoes went across from the islet to
the mainland. As soon as we were observed, a tremen-
dous yelling and shouting arose on the islet ; several
warriors, waving spears and tomahawks, rushed out from
the trees on to the shallow shore-reefs, splashing about
and cutting all sorts of capers in their excitement.

The two foremost canoes were filled with women,
probably going to their plantations on the main island ;
but the third and hindermost was manned solely by nine
young fellows, who, as it turned out, desired to join me.
It had been their intention to cross to the main island,
on pretence of guarding the women, and then to follow
us along the coast, hoping that we should see and take
them off before they got upon hostile territory.

The chiefs and their partisans on the shores of Lam-
men shouted and signalled to the canoe people to come

96 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

back. However, the two foremost canoes — which were
already near the Api side of the channel — were paddled
on faster to that shore, where the women landed, hauled
up the canoes, and disappeared into the forest. The
third crew turned about and paddled in our direction.

The other schooner I mentioned as coming up from
the south had now drawn near. Down went my boats,
therefore, and I had the pleasing satisfaction of securing
nine able-bodied recruits, right under the bows of the
Lady Darling, of Brisbane. Having shipped them, I
proceeded to pay a visit to the new-comer. Her boats
were already off, drawing the coast of the islet. How-
ever, they speedily returned, the Darlings recruiter
reporting that the natives had threatened to fire at
him.

No wonder ! He ought to have known that the Lam-
men chiefs would be furious at my snapping up a lot of
their young men, as he had seen me do. I know I
should not have cared to have shown myself on that islet
for at least a month to come.

I watered the ship, for the last time on this voyage, at
Ibo, Sandwich I. I did not go into Havannah Harbour,
merely anchoring off the mouth of the North-west Pas-
sao-e, where I landed my Lorss boatmen, also cuttino-

o ' •• o

firewood — tough, twisty she-oak. Thence I sailed for
Maryborough, passing north of New Caledonia, and
south of the Bampton Reefs.

The revolving light on Sandy Cape, the northern ex-
tremity of Eraser I., puzzled the recruits a good deal.
We were beating into the bay one night, after rounding
the point of Breaksea Spit, when I happened to go for-
ward. A dozen of our recruits were standing about,
watching the distant light as it blazed out, and then
disappeared for a short while, every two minutes. At
last one of them — who had a fair knowledge of English,
though he had never visited the colonies — turned, and

o

seeing me, remarked, " My word, Cappen, that feller

MASSACRE AT GALA I.

97

break plenty match ! " I suppose he thought the licrht-
house keeper extinguished and relit the lamp every time
it revolved.

But his astonishment was greater, when, going up the
river Mary, we came round a bend, and saw two youno-
colonials at work breaking in a young horse. One was
holding the horse's head, the other being in the saddle,
as we came in sight. The first let go his hold, and away
went the brute, kicking and bucking all across the pad-
dock. Suddenly, girths and surcingle gave way, and off
came the rider on to the ground, with the saddle between
his legs. " Cappen ! Cappen ! he broke ! " roared out our
"new chum." He must have thought horse and man
were one animal.

Previous to my arrival at Maryborough, at the end of
July, the schooner Dancing Wave had come into Sydney
harbour in charge of Mr. Davis, formerly mate of the
barque Sydney. The Dancing Wave had sailed from
Sydney in June, commanded by Captain Harrison, her
mate being James Dare, an old friend of mine, and her
crew consisting of four A.B.'s. Her ultimate destination
was Torres Straits, to collect pearl-shell. For the work
of collecting, a gang of South Sea Islanders was indis-
pensable ; and, in order to engage them, Captain Harri-
son went to the Solomon Is., anchoring oft Gala, one of
the Florida Is. A native interpreter, named Freeman,
had been engaged at Hada Bay, San Christoval I.

While the ship lay at Gala, some seventy natives
offered their services, and came on board. Suddenly,
without warning, every man, of the ship's company,
except one, was struck down and killed. Broad, the sea-
man who alone escaped death, shot two or three of the
savages, and then concealed himself in the cabin. After
a while the murderers left the ship, leaving some nine or
ten natives of Guadalcanar I. on board. Broad then
came on deck, thinking all were gone ; but, seeing the
Guadalcanar men, and being frenzied with fear, jumped

ii

98 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

into the sea. Harry, a Guadalcanar man, called him
back, and got him on board again. The cable was
slipped, Broad and the Guadalcanar men getting the
vessel away, with the intention of going to Savo I., where
a white trader was then residing. Broad soon discovered
that Harry and his companions were just as treacherous
as the Florida men. He therefore seized an opportunity
of escaping from the schooner in a small boat, during a
violent squall. Fortunately, he was rescued by Captain
Woodhouse, of the Sydney barque, at Savo. The Sydney
went in search of the Dancing Wave, retaking her off
Wanderer's Bay, Guadalcanar I. H.M.S. Barracouta,
Captain Stevens, was subsequently sent to the Florida
Is. to apprehend or punish the murderers. Owing to
missionary interference, and to Exeter Hall influence,
however, she left again without doing anything. Captain
Stevens had made an appointment with Ferguson — the
well-known and respected trader — to meet him there,
but did not wait for him. When Ferguson reached Gala,
he was terribly disgusted to find Stevens gone, by whose
want of action more harm than good was likely to result,
the perpetrators of the massacre getting off scot-free.

I subsequently heard, from natives who were con-
cerned in it, the reason why this massacre occurred. It
appears that a number of natives of Gala had been em-
ployed on a Queensland plantation, the owner of which
was in difficulties. When their term of service had nearly
expired, and their wages and passage-money were about
to become due, the mortgagees of the estate — a well-
known Brisbane firm — took possession of it, and repu-
diated any liability for the wages, etc. Such was the
state of the law respecting South Sea Island labour, at
that time, that the boys had no legal claim on the estate ;
and, although such a proceeding was certain to result in
outrage and murder, they were actually sent home by the
ministry of that day without receiving a farthing of their
hard-earned wages.

ILL NEWS FROM THE ISLANDS. 99

I am bound to add, however, on reliable authority,
that the bill to amend the Polynesian Act — which,
amongst other items, gives the Polynesian a claim on the
estate for his wages and passage home — was in print
before the news of the Dancing Wave massacre arrived.

Also, just before my arrival, news came of the murder
of Captain Anderson, of the schooner Lucy and Ade-
laide, in St. Bartholomew I., New Hebrides, on the
25th of June, 1876. I had met Anderson and his G.A.,
Mr. McGavin, at Havannah Harbour, during my late
voyage. The Lucy and Adelaide had put in there to
repair damages to her foremast.

Close on the heels of this ill news came more of a
similar sort. Luckily, it turned out to be a false report
this time.

Mr. Layard, consul at Noumea, New Caledonia, sent
word to Sydney that the crew of the labour schooner
May Queen — Captain Kilgour, Mr. Lynde G.A. — had
been cut off by the natives at Tanna I.

As soon as this news was received in Brisbane, a well-
known tradesman, a rabid opponent of the Polynesian
labour trade, exposed to view a portrait of Kilgour as the
"captain of the slaver" killed in Tanna. Unfortunately
for the shopkeeper, however, the May Queen, with Kil-
gour and Lynde safe on board, arrived at Brisbane a
day or two after. Then the skipper made things rather
warm for that tradesman, who had paid no attention to
the principle — De mortiiis nil nisi bomim.

At this time, the number of vessels employed in the
labour trade amounted to less than a dozen, all rigged
as schooners or brigantines, and ranging from So to 140
tons register. I remember the names Stanley, SibyL
Chance, Lady Darling -, May Queen, Isabella, Bobtail Nag,
Lucy and Adelaide, and Flora. The Jason had been
burnt, the Lyttona wrecked, and the Native Lass con-
demned, since I had engaged in the trade.

CHAPTER VI.

FIFTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, l8j6.

I sail in August — Worgus, Tanna I. — Natives tell us a yarn —
Recruiting with " liquor " — Muna I. — Story of Naumeta —
He engages with me — His treatment by the missionary —
The reverend gentleman gives chase — He comes on board —
He demands a surrender — "Is the boy your slave?" — / am
accused of Jiousebreaking — " Get out of the ship ! " — Com-
plaint to the Government — Result — Inspection at Maryborough
— Flick's three fingers — The inspector's report — Letter from
a member of the committee — Some Government regulations
—Comments upon them — Order to discharge cabin-boys — The
inspector s revenge.

AFTER lying three weeks in harbour, waiting for the
licences, I sailed again in the Stanley, towards the middle
of August. The same G.A. who was with me before
accompanied me again, but I had a different mate, whom
I had engaged to fill the office of recruiter, and to do the
boating work, as well as his regular duties on board.

The work of recruiting commenced at Tanna I., as on
previous occasions ; but there was only one circumstance
connected with our stay there which is worth recording.

At Worgus Point we were informed by the natives
that a schooner had been there two or three weeks pre-
viously. Her captain, they said, had landed, gone to the
village, and there treated all of them to "plenty grog."
By this means he had induced a number of men to go on
board his vessel ; and, of these, not all had returned to
the shore. The names of the captain and of the vessel
were told us ; but as the first is now dead, and as the
latter was afterwards wrecked, and is also no more, I see
no use in naming either. Besides which, I have one

STORY OF NAUMETA. 101

good reason for doubting this story. It was notorious
among us that the captain in question never had any
grog on board his vessel, whilst at the islands. Not that
he was a teetotaler ; quite the contrary. But it was his
practice to drink up all the liquor he was allowed to take
out of Maryborough, on each voyage, before he even got
as far as the New Hebrides. Again, too, I am certain
that the G.A. who accompanied him was not the man to
have sanctioned such a proceeding as that which was
related to us.

I do not like to allude to this report ; but as I desire
to tell all I know about the trade — against as well as in
favour of it — I feel bound to mention the matter. More-
over, I can honestly avouch that, this was the only in-
stance of such a practice being resorted to, for the pur-
pose of obtaining recruits, that I ever heard of.

After watering at Havannah Harbour, I went north-
ward. And now I must refer to a circumstance which
had occurred on a previous voyage — either my third or
fourth — I cannot recollect precisely which. I had then
called at the small island of Muna (Three Hills I.).
There, a youth named Naumeta had offered himself as a
recruit. I declined to take him on that occasion, for two
reasons. First, he was not a native of Muna, but of
Aneiteum ; and, second, he was in the employment of a
missionary, at Muna. He told me a pitiful story of the
treatment he had received from his employer. Calling
at this island again, on the present voyage, the lad once
more turned up, with what result I will now go on to
relate.

I hove to off the south-eastern coast of Muna I., in
what was known to us as " The Sound," on the shore of
which was the mission station. The G.A. and mate,
having been on shore, brought off this boy with them.
The former was of opinion that the Government would
jnake no objection to his being engaged as a recruit,
since he was under no agreement now to remain with

102 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the missionary, his term of service having expired pre-
vious to our former visit.

On my questioning Naumeta, who was able to speak
a little English, he told me that sixteen or seventeen
months before he had been engaged in Aneiteum, his
native island. He was to accompany the missionary to
Muna, and act as a house servant. His term of service
was not to exceed twelve months ; and, at the expiration
of that time, he was to be paid — how, I could not ascer-
tain— and to be sent home in the mission schooner, free
of charge. He said he had told the missionary he wished
to go home ; and, latterly, that he would like to engage
as a labourer and go to Queensland. Since he had pre-
ferred the first request, the mission schooner had been
to Muna twice, but he had been refused a passage home
in her. He also stated that he could not get any pay-
ment for the services he had rendered.

Now, it was rny business to obtain recruits as quickly
as possible, by lawful means. It was not my business,
nor was it my desire, to assist missionaries, or any one
else, in deluding natives and keeping them in servitude
when they had a right to leave it if they wished. So I
explained the nature of our agreement to Naumeta, and
put his name on my recruit list. Then, with his pipe,
tobacco, and blanket, he dived down the main hatch out
of sight. For, just then, we could see the missionary
coming off to the ship in his boat, which two of his
teachers were rapidly pulling alongside.

Thinking that very few words would settle this matter,
as far as the reverend gentleman was concerned, I went
to the gangway to receive him. In fact, I wished to
have as little conversation with him as was possible under
the circumstances, experience having taught me that some
of these holy men — of the Presbyterian denomination
especially — are rather disposed to exaggerate, to use a
mild term, when recounting the details of such incidents
as the present one. I told my visitor as much, too,
before we parted.

ACCUSED BY A MISSIONARY. 103

He wasted no words on any preliminary greeting, as
he came over the gangway.

" You hae gettin' a boy o' mine aboarrd here," said he,
in an accent unmistakably Scottish.

" A boy of yours / Is the boy your slave, then?" I
retorted.

" No, he's no ma slave, but he's ma sairvant, an' a want
him ashore."

Then I said the boy had engaged himself to accompany
me to Queensland, his term of service with my visitor
having expired some time since. I also recounted the
lad's story, which the other acknowledged was correct,
even to the non-payment of his wages. For all that, he
still stuck to his demand that I should send Naumeta
back to the shore, threatening to appeal to the first ship
of war which came that way.

Now it so happened that I had just left one of H.M.
ships at anchor in Havannah Harbour. Therefore, I at
once offered to await her arrival, or that of any of her
officers, if he chose to communicate with her. He
would have had to traverse only six or seven miles of
smooth water in order to have reached her. This pro-
posal, as I anticipated, he declined to accept. Leaving
the gangway, he then walked to windward, and, planting
himself against the rail on the weather quarter, poured
out a string of mild abuse against "labour" seekers in
general and myself in particular. He wound up his
tirade with a personal accusation ; to wit, that I had
"bruk into Mr. Paton's hoose in Aniwa I."1

Up to this point I had kept my temper, having been
particularly careful not to make use of any "cuss " words.
Now the cork came right out, and I bubbled over.

" Did Paton tell you I broke into his house ? " roared I.

0 Yes, he did."

" Then, next time you see him, you can tell him he's a

d dliar!"

1 See chap. i.

104 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

" A didna come on boarrd here to have that language
addressed to me," said he.

" No, you didn't, I dare say ; and you won't get any
more. For if you don't get out of the ship at once, I'll
bundle you out quicker than you came."

Whereat my gentleman thought it best to depart,
without more adp.

I have omitted one portion of our conversation, how-
ever. In the course of it, I taxed him with not having
paid the boy his wages. In reply, he said he had not
done so because suitable goods — calicoes, etc. — had not
been obtainable on board the Dayspring — the mission
schooner — when she last visited Muna. I offered to sell
him calico there and then, on board the Stanley, so that he
could pay his debt ; and, furthermore, to charge him no
more than his own price. This proposition he declined.

This missionary afterwards laid a formal complaint
before the Queensland Government, alleging that I had
taken away his servant. Some three years later, I
ascertained that a certain police magistrate had received
instructions from the Government to examine the boy
in regard to the manner of his engagement.

The P.M. accordingly visited the house of Naumeta's
employer, near Bundaberg. The gentleman himself
happened to be absent from home at the time ; but the
servant who received the official in his place was no
other than Naumeta. Nothing more came of it.

I cannot help thinking, however, that if one of us had
engaged a Polynesian for twelve months, had kept him
sixteen, and even then had never paid him his wages, he
might have seen the inside of a prison, and assuredly
would have done so, if a missionary had been the prose-
cutor.

The remainder of this cruise was, I think, uneventful.
The islands that supplied me with the greater number of
my ninety-odd recruits were Mario and Pentecost.

We arrived at Maryborough about November 2Oth.

PUCK'S THREE FIKGERS. 105

As soon as the ship had been passed by the medical
inspector, the immigration agent of the port set to work
to examine each recruit, inquiring into the manner of his
engagement, and the number of years he had agreed to
serve in Queensland. Of course a good deal of the
questioning was effected through interpreters.

In order to ascertain the number of years each recruit
contracted to serve, he directed them to hold up their
fingers. Now, if indicating numbers, a Kanaka turns
down his fingers, instead of holding zip the number he
wishes to express. Ignorant of this, the immigration
agent fancied he had discovered another "outrage," when
my boys turned down three fingers, leaving only two
upright.

Little Puck was standing by at the time, and thought
he must shove his oar in. So he perched himself on the
end of the winch, amidships, in which position he was
hidden from the inspector, who was stationed abaft of
the deck-house. There he commenced to instruct the
recruits, who were waiting their turn, how to hold their
fingers.

About a score had passed, when, suddenly, a long,
lanky Pentecost man came round the house, holding up
three fingers all ready, without waiting to be questioned.
Up jumped the inspector, and there, behind the first
man, he saw a string of others, each of them holding up
three fingers, as though it was some sort of ceremony.
Finally, his eye fell on Puck, amidships, industriously
demonstrating to the crowd.

There was a roar of laughter among the ship's company
and others present. But the great man did not join in
it. He felt insulted. It was a " put up " thing ! I had
set the boy on to incite the recruits into deceiving him.
And so forth. By degrees things were explained, and
he condescended to let us appease his wrath. Puck was
ordered to desist ; and the examination ended satisfac-
torily.

io6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

This gentleman had lately volunteered a report to the
Queensland Government on the Polynesian labour-
traffic ; which afforded then, and for many years after,
one of the leading questions among politicians in the
colony. The result of this report, which had been
deemed of sufficient importance to warrant the appoint-
ment of a " Polynesian Labour Select Committee," to
inquire into the charges brought against employers of
Kanaka labour, may be gathered from the following : —

" The main cause or origin of the committee arose

from the report of Mr. , sent to the colonial

secretary, uninvited by the Government, and containing
many serious charges — or at least implied charges—
against, not only the employers of, but all connected
with Polynesian labour. These charges were not sub-
stantiated, and the evidence given by Mr. will

clearly show that his report was dealing with (to use his
own words) the most extreme possibilities ; that it was
based, not on facts, but on suspicions, and I feel certain
that an impartial perusal of the mass of evidence collected
will clearly show this to be the case." — Extract from a
letter in " The Brisbane Courier" Nov. 2*]th, 1%*] 6, signed
by one of the members of the Committee.

In the "Government Gazette," December 23rd, 1876,
a notification appeared that the Governor, with the advice
of the Executive Council, had formed some new regula-
tions with reference to the Polynesian Act of 1868,
which I summarize as follows : —

i. Before a licence to recruit shall be granted, the district in which
the labourer is to be employed must be specified.

This regulation was much needed. Maryborough,
about this time, was a favourite place with the New
Hebrideans ; but frequently, after arrival there, they had
been drafted off to some other district. In revenge for
this, after their return home, some of them had " taken it
out " of the first unsuspecting white man who had fallen
into their power.

SOME GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS. 107

2. Agreements — i.e., the final agreement, when the labourer is trans-
ferred to the employer on shore from his agent, the master of the vessel
— shall be entered into on board on arrival, only with the person who
has applied for and to whom the licence has been issued.

3. No transfer of a labourer from one employer to another shall be
allowed until after proper inquiry shall have been made by the inspector,
and then only under a bond, and only when the first employer shall
have ceased to require the services of the Polynesian.

4. No transfer shall be allowed to any employer in another district
until after the lapse of a reasonable time from arrival.

Unfortunately, it was not stated precisely what His
Excellency and the Executive Council considered "a
reasonable time," — an omission that made the regulation
valueless, in my opinion.

5. The employer shall pay wages to each labourer annually. Such
wages shall be paid in current coin, and shall be paid in the presence of
a Government inspector, or of a police magistrate.

From the foregoing epitome of the regulations at that
date, it will be evident that Queenslanders were doing
their best to regulate the Polynesian trade, and to check
abuses on shore as well as afloat.

I may also state that, in the transfers of labourers from
one employer to another, it was the duty of the inspector
to ascertain if the labourer was willing to be so transferred.
I know of one instance only in which this was not strictly
carried out. In that case the offender was ah officer who
avowedly belonged to the political party that opposed
Polynesian labour altogether. I shall refer to it later on.

The immigration inspector at Maryborough, having
had a rap over the knuckles for his report, as I have
shown above, took his revenge out of us skippers, since
he could not reach any higher. Two of the Polynesian
labour vessels — the Stanley and the Sibyl — had each, for
the last year or more, carried a cabin-boy. These lads
were engaged in the islands, and their names were borne
on the ship's articles. Shortly after arrival in port, the
crews were discharged, the cabin-boys included. How-
ever, as the Act provided that " no Polynesian shall be

io8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

introduced into this colony except under the provisions
of this Act," new articles for the next voyage were
signed by the cabin-boy, immediately after he had re-
ceived his wages and discharge from the first.

The inspector decided that the discharge from the
first articles was an infringement of the Act. He there-
fore notified us that our cabin-boys were to be landed at
their respective homes on our ensuing voyages. That
is to say, their engagement was held by him to have
been illegal.

I cannot help thinking that this was nothing more
than petty revenge. Scores of times I have known of
Polynesian boatmen who had never visited Queensland
before, being brought to Maryborough, and there dis-
charged and shipped again, precisely in the same manner
as our cabin-boys. Yet our inspector never -took notice
of such cases, apparently reserving " the letter of the
law " for those who had offended him.

CHAPTER VII.

SIXTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1876-7.

Christmas at the White Cliffs — Run to the Banks' Is. — Landing
returned labourers — A dirty night — Curious weather — Run-
ning for the open — A whirlwind — Racing the sivell — Out of
the cyclone — The Stanley wins renown — Meralaba I. —
Effects of the hurricane — Remarks on the Batiks' Is. — Port
Olry — Tanoa I. — Recruits from inland — Adam, the inter-
preter— Failure to reach Pusse — At Port Sandwich — The
W. S. Fox — Sunken coral reefs — Round New Caledonia —
Arrival at Maryborough — Quarantine — Red fire — Puck
ordered home — Reasons for his reluctance to go — I resign
command of the Stanley — How Puck evaded the authorities
— An abuse — Cot Ions instead of woollens — A case in court —
Change of officials.

I SAILED again from Maryborough towards the end of
December, spending Christmas at anchor off the White
Cliffs, Fraser I. On the thirtieth of the month, at night,
I rounded Breaksea Spit, and thence stood to the east
with a southerly breeze. This, however, soon drew
round to south-east, blowing freshly, and bringing thick,
dirty weather.

I had a number of Kanaka labourers on board, re-
turning to their homes ; and, as the destination of most
of them was the Banks' Is., the northernmost of the New
Hebrides group, I kept the ship to north-eastward, pass-
ing just to leeward of the Bampton reefs, and hauling up
again sharp on the starboard tack. In the vicinity of
the Torres Is. — which I sighted but did not visit — the
wind fell off for a while, then hauling round to north-
north-east, carried me to Mota Lava, or Saddle I., one

i io THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of the Banks' Is., where, one forenoon, I landed several
of my passengers. This was on or about January I5th,
1877. ^

While the boats were at work landing men and women,

o

with their huge heavy chests — the ship meanwhile dodg-
ing off and on — the breeze freshened up, with squalls of
wind and rain, under a dull cloudy sky. My aneroid
was falling, and, as the hurricane season was now due, I
hastened the men in the boats, hoping I might be able
to anchor in Port Pattison, on the west of Vanua Lava
I., before dark. This was not to be, however. It was
late in the afternoon before my work at Mota Lava was
ended, and night began to fall before I got to the port
Being unacquainted with the anchorage, I decided to
take my chance in the open sea. So, passing south of
Mota I., I stood to eastward under double reefs.

The sea was still running easily, and the wind was no
more than- fresh, but the night drew in pitch-dark, while
rain fell in torrents. The glass was going down slowly
but surely, and there was every prospect of a cyclone.
I therefore wore the ship in towards the land again, at
about 2 a.m.

About seven we stood in between Saddle I. and Sugar-
Loaf I., a hard gale blowing from the north and west.
Overhead and astern of us, the sky was bright and cloud-
less ; but before our course a dense black bank of clouds
rose from the horizon almost to the zenith. The sun was
shining on us, and the sea was bright and sparkling, just
flecked with white driving foam. The schooner laid
herself down to it, and, smothered in drift, seemed to do
her level best to get to an anchorage before the worst of
the hurricane caught her.

But our luck was no better in the morning than it had
been overnight. I should have had to have beaten into
the port, had I adhered to my original intention ; and,
from the outside, this looked an almost impossible feat.
So I kept away for the passage between Vanua Lava

ROUGH WEATHER. in

and the two small islets — Pakea and Nivula — which lie
off its south-eastern shore.

When we got into the passage the wind suddenly
fell ; for we were then under the high land of the main
island. Then a whirlwind caught the schooner aback,
dashing the booms and the fore-and-aft canvas over to
the contrary side, nearly capsizing the starboard boat on
the davits — in which I was standing to con the ship —
and smothering us in a whirling cloud of salt drift.

This did not last more than half a minute, ceasing as
quickly as it begun. Two or three similar whirlwinds
passed close to the ship. I was much relieved when
the schooner shot out of the passage into the open sea,
and the gale once more howled through the rigging.

There was nothing for it now but to run clear away
from the land. I headed the ship to the east, before the
heavy swell that came rolling round the south coast of
the island. The boats were got in on deck and secured,
the hatches battened down, the topgallant yard sent on
deck, and sail was shortened to a close-reefed topsail and
inner jib.

Near the island the swell rose in long and regular
rollers ; less than two miles off, we suddenly plunged
into a raging broken sea, the effect of cross currents.
The wind had now hauled round to north-west almost,
and the aneroid was down to 29*40. The black cloud-
bank appeared to be travelling -in a south-easterly direc-
tion. To keep away from it as much as possible, I
missed no opportunity, when the heavy seas allowed me,
of steering with the wind on the port quarter.

I should have heaved to under the storm- main -trysail,
if the swell had not been so dangerous. In that raging
sea, however, both the mate and myself were afraid to
attempt it. We thought it safer to run down east until
the swell subsided, or we could haul out of it.

In the afternoon the centre of the cyclone appeared to
be abeam of us, bearing S. W. to S.S.W., the wind coming

H2 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

from about N.W. by W. We were then scudding under
the topsail, beneath the edge of the cloud-bank. The
sky to the north and east was blue and cloudless, the
remainder being hidden by a uniform mass of dark
cloud. Just overhead of us, the cloud- bank assumed a
lumpy and rounded appearance, like a bunch of black
grapes, and took a tint of indigo blue.

On one side the horizon came clearly in view when-
ever the ship rose on the top of the swell ; on the other
our prospect was bounded by a wall of driving rain, fall-
ing at a few hundred yards distance. Now and then
this falling sheet drew near and enveloped the ship, pour-
ing down upon us with pitiless force ; while the tempest
of wind shrieked through the rip-pfinor and the hu<je seas

o oo o* <^>

roared alongside as they raced past us. As we rose on
the wave-tops we could breathe ; each time we sank into
the trough between them we were half suffocated and
smothered in salt drift and foam. The Stanley seemed
to be simply running a race with a hurricane ; while, on
board, we were praying that she might not win !

The aneroid had now fallen to 29*10, remaining steady
at that point ; so — barring accidents — we knew we were
safe ; since the centre of the cyclone was not likely to
approach any nearer. This state of things lasted until
nearly sundown, when the wind began to veer towards
the west and slacken in force. Very early next morning
I hove the ship to, under the storm-main-trysail and such
other canvas as she had been running under. After that
the cyclone had the race to itself, dying away towards
south-east. At 8 a.m. the Stanley lay on the port tack,
under all ordinary sail, breasting the seas with a light
south-west breeze and fine clear weather, beating back
to the Banks' Is.

The manner in which she had behaved in this gale
won a great name for the Stanley throughout the islands.
My " returns " had been down below all through the
gale, the only ventilation they had being through the

EFFECTS OF THE HURRICANE. 113

scuttle of the after-hatch and the battened bulkhead of
the women's quarters ; so they must have had a very
rough time of it. They probably thought that the ship
had been in much greater danger than was the case.
When they came on deck next morning, and found she
had sustained no damage, they were loud in their praises.
For Kanakas dread nothing so much as the " big wind."

Meralaba, or Starpeak I., was the first land I made,
and there I obtained three recruits. This island is of a
conical shape, — the old crater of an extinct volcano form-
ing its summit, — having an elevation of nearly 3,000
feet above sea level. Its shores are abrupt, and there is
no anchorage off them. From Meralaba I went to Santa
Maria I., thence working southward through the group
as far as Havannah Harbour, whence I sailed for home
with ninety- eight recruits.

The hurricane we had encountered passed throughout
the whole group of the New Hebrides. The beaches
and forests of every island we visited bore witness to
its violence. The inhabitants were fearful that a famine
would result, so much damage had it done to their plan-
tations ; frequently refusing, in consequence, to sell yams,
taro, and other provisions.

Banks' Is., the northernmost division of the New He-
brides, are five or six in number. They are of volcanic
formation, and are mountainous. Mota I., included with
them, is, however, coralline in structure for the most part.

Santa Maria, or Gaua I., and Vanua Lava, have the
only anchorages worth mentioning ; those at Lakon, four-
teen fathoms, and at Losolava, twelve fathoms, both oft
Santa Maria I., being the best. The Admiralty plans of
these, and of Port Pattison, Vanua Lava I., are excellent
and reliable.

I had intended to go to the west coast of Espiritu
Santo I. after leaving the Banks' Is. ; but the weather
looked so threatening, when we sailed, that I ran to Port
Olry, on the east coast, for shelter. After an improve-

i

ii4 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

ment had shown itself, I found it more convenient to
work round to the south, trusting to get an opportunity
to visit Pusse, on the western coast, for which place I had
two returns. Pusse was Puck's native place, also, and I
had been ordered to land him there.

North-west of Bartholomew I., and near the south
coast of Espiritu Santo, there are four islets. Of these,
the nearest to the main is Tanoa, divided from it only
by a narrow channel. Inside this channel there are good
anchorages, in eight to twelve fathoms of water. I lay
there for several days, while it blew hard from the north-
west.

I obtained several recruits while lying at this place,
not from the islet but from the main. Some of them
came down from the interior of the island. A returned
labourer from Queensland, named Adam, who lived on
the mainland coast near our anchorage, acted as my
messenger to the inland tribes on this occasion, as well
as subsequently. Some of the men who came to engage
said it had taken them two days to travel down to the
coast from their villages.

I hung about the south coast of Espiritu Santo for
more than a fortnight, hoping that an opportunity of
getting: to Pusse would occur. The wind hung- to the

O O t>

northward, sometimes light and baffling, sometimes
blowing a gale of wind, regular monsoon weather. I
got within three or four miles of the place once, when it
fell almost calm, and a current carried me back to Cape
Lisburne, the south-western extremity of the island. At
last I gave it up, since I could not afford to waste more
time over such a job. Then I squared away for Pente-
cost, giving that island a trial, with excellent results.

At Port Sandwich, Mallicolo, I lay for two days.
There I was told by the natives that a French schooner
had left the port just before the recent hurricane had
broken over the island. They supposed she had been
lost, for some inquiries had since been made for her by

SUNKEN CORAL REEFS. 115

white men. The vessel they spoke of may have been
the Tanna, as she disappeared about that time. A small
ketch, the W. S. Fox, was lying at Port Sandwich near
us, but left before we did.

With a few more boys on board I sailed from Port
Sandwich, getting a moderate breeze from the southward
for a wonder. Off the Maskelyne islets I found the
IV. S. Fox again lying at anchor inside the reefs. Her
master came off to me, and piloted the Stanley to an
anchorage off Olunduva islet. This was a delightful as
well as protected berth. It was surrounded by pictur-
esque islets, the mountainous coast of Mallicolo, and a
vast extent of coral reefs. The last prevented the
heaviest sea from disturbing the surface of its waters.

Here, and on the south coast, I recruited a sufficient
number of boys to make up my list to over ninety. I
then sailed to Tongoa, working the west coast of Api on
the way. I lay there no more than an hour or two one
morning, getting under way again speedily because the
barometer was falling very fast. A few hours' run took
me to Havannah Harbour, where I found the settlers
preparing for a hurricane — an example I thought it wise
to follow. However, it blew only a hard gale, beginning
in the north, as usual, and veering round to west, where
it died down. In the midst of it the little W. S. Fox
bowled in through the north-west passage, and very glad
was her " Geordie " skipper to get to an anchor.

I beat out of the southern passage with the last of this
breeze. Off Tukatuka, the western point of Sandwich
I., the wind fell light, suddenly chopping round to the
east. While standing off the land on the port tack, we
unexpectedly ran by two patches of sun-ken coral, which
were not marked on the Admiralty chart. Hat I. (off the
west coast of Sandwich I.) lay north-east from this spot,
being fourteen or sixteen miles distant, perhaps even less.
There was a moderate sea running at the time, but no
breakers were visible.

n6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I made for home by the southern route, round New
Caledonia. Notwithstanding light winds and several
calms, we made a quick voyage, on the whole. We
arrived at Maryborough on the morning of March 23rd,
but the immigration agent considered 2 p.m. much too
late an hour for him to visit the ship. So we were not
released from quarantine until the following morning.

However, the quarantine laws could not prevent our
host of the Melbourne Hotel from sending off to us a
little " refreshment." So we had some merriment in the
evening, ending by illuminating the ship with all the blue
lights and red fire we had left. We made such a blaze
that half the town was scared ; especially as the powder
magazine was hardly fifty yards from where we lay.

Touching this "red fire" — most labour vessels carried
a small gun to announce their presence to the natives
living in the forests, when they came to an anchor under
any of the islands. I was unprovided with any such
weapon, and therefore used to explode dynamite ; or at
night I sometimes flared off a preparation I got from a
chemist in Maryborough. This burned with a brilliant
red light, and was altogether more effective and not so
ghostly as the ordinary blue light, besides being cheaper.

Of course I had some trouble with the immigration

o

agent, as soon as he discovered that Puck was still on
board. It ended in smoke, however, though he in-
sinuated that I had purposely refrained from landing
the boy, which was untrue.

The Sibyl was then lying at the wharves nearly ready
for sea, and it was decreed that Puck should be taken
home in her.

Now Puck, about a year before I engaged him, had
run away from his home in Espiritu Santo I. in company
with another youngster, the son of his chief. The latter
fell ill and died soon after, in Sandwich I. Puck, who
was the eldest, was afraid that, if he made his appear-
ance at Pusse without his late companion, he would be

PUCK EVADES THE AUTHORITIES.

117

accused of having beguiled him away, and be himself
killed for doing so. Wherefore poor Puck had no desire
to go home.

In the meantime, whilst Puck's affairs were being
arranged for him, I had resigned my command of the
Stanley. This was because a slight disagreement had
arisen between the owner and myself. About a week
after that Puck disappeared.

He was to have gone home, as I said before, in the
Sibyl. A few hours before she sailed the two Govern-

PUCK.

ment agents and the two skippers — Captain Kilgour
having been appointed to the Stanley in my place — met
on board the latter vessel. The Sibyl was lying at a
wharf at some distance. The party, having started to walk
from one vessel to the other, ordered Puck to follow them.
Now, across the road along the river-bank which con-
nected the two wharves, there was a fence with a gap in
it. The two skippers passed through this gap, and
walked on arm-in-arm ; the two G.A's. followed them.
Lastly poor Puck, weeping bitterly, came to the gap in
his turn. But he did not pass through it. An idea
suddenly occurred to him. He turned to the left, ran
along the fence, and disappeared. Puck did not go

nS THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

home in the Sibyl. I met him in Sydney about eight
years after this.

About a month previous to my arrival, another abuse
had been ferretted out and exposed by our friend the
immigration agent. I venture to say that, if he and
other officers holding a similar position elsewhere had
but kept their eyes open, they might have discovered it
long ago. For the fact was obvious to everybody else
connected with labour vessels then. This abuse lay in
the fact that recruits were supplied with the cheapest
and worst clothing that could be obtained in the mar-
ket. Thin cottons were generally given to them, in lieu
of the strong woollen stuffs prescribed by the Act.

The Sibyl had arrived in Hervey Bay about February
26th, and, as was the custom in those days, clothing
was served out to the recruits just before the vessel
entered the river. As soon as she had arrived at her
moorings, the immigration agent summoned the owner
before the court, for not supplying a " flannel " shirt to
one of the recruits.

The Sibyl had ninety-seven recruits on board, but only
one case was tried as a test-case, the other ninety-six
being withdrawn. The owner was fined five shillings
and costs (^25). He ought to have been thankful to
the immigration agent for withdrawing the other cases.
He does not appear, however, to have been in that de-
sirable state of mind, since he applied, by his counsel, for
" prohibition."

Shortly after my arrival, the immigration agent re-
ferred to was relieved of a portion of his onerous duties
by the appointment of an assistant-immigration agent
and Polynesian inspector. A little later, another ship-
ping master was appointed to the post. Our " friend,"
therefore, of the multifarious offices, retained only that
of sub-collector of customs. No one in Maryborough
was sorry for this re-division of the executive powers —
unless it were the officer aforesaid !

CHAPTER VIII.

LAST VOYAGE OF THE BOBTAIL NAG.

1 meet with an accident — / take command of the Bobtail Nag
— Death of Bully Hayes, the freebooter — Sail to Fiji — At
Levuka — Fijian labour system — Regulations and pay —
Fitting ship — An abuse — Queensland and Fijian labourers
— Paying off — In a Fijian store — Diddling the boys — / sail
from Levuka — My boatmen — Hostilities at Tanna I. — Boys
unwilling to land — Returns unwelcome — Scarcity of food
— Beachmen plunder bnshmen — / escape death — Lose my
galvanic belt — Effects of the drought — Aurora and Pentecost
Is. — The Charybdis ashore — / leave HavannaJi Harbour —
Bad weather — Put back to Vila — I go ashore — Visit Roddin
— The cyclone upon us — Hasty preparations — A roaring
hurricane — Driven on the reef — The wreck — Cutting away
the masts — The centre of the cyclone — " All hands asliore ! "
— Saving provisions — Encamped on the islet — Expedition to
the village — Fire — The mght of the wreck.

IN August, 1878, I was offered the command of the
Lady Darling, which vessel was then lying at Brisbane.
I had accepted the proposal, when an accident occurred
which obliged me to withdraw from it — a fall, when out
riding one evening, having laid me up for three weeks.
By September, though still suffering from the effects of
the accident, I was able to get to work again, and took
command of the Bobtail Nag, a brigantine chartered by
the Government of Fiji for recruiting work. I sailed in
her for Levuka on the twenty- first of that month.

Just before we left Brisbane, news had been received
there that " Bully" Hayes, the notorious South Sea free-
booter, had been killed. This man was a native of
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. His exploits had consisted chiefly

120 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of ship robberies and occasional abductions of women,
accompanied by more or less violence. I had met him
once at Kusaie, Caroline Is., in 1871. He was killed by-
one of his piratical crew, a Norwegian named Janssen
or Johnson, during a quarrel on board the Lotus, a
vessel he had stolen. Johnson afterwards took the Lotus
to Jaluit, Marshall Is., and gave her up to a German
trader resident there.

The Bobtail Nag was a very indifferent vessel com-
pared with my late command, the Stanley. Let it blow
high or low, the latter shipped no more water than
enough to keep her bilges sweet, while the poor old
" Bob " leaked like a sieve in heavy weather, and even
in fine she gave the watch a fifteen minutes' spell at the
pumps every evening. We had to keep her " wee-gee "
always rigged.

Off Norfolk I. we came in for a gale, during which one
of the boats was carried away. This I had to replace at
Levuka. After three weeks out we sighted Matuku
I., one of the Fiji group, and, next morning, the rugged
peaks of Ovalau I. lay right ahead of us, the white houses
of Levuka — then the capital — nestling at their base.
By noon the Bobtail Nag lay at anchor off the town,
inside the barrier reef that forms the harbour. Here we
remained for nearly a month, repairing and outfitting.

The system of recruiting labourers at the islands for
Fiji was similar to that under Queensland regulations,
but the manner of dealing with them on arrival was
different. At Levuka, recruits were inspected on board
by the immigration agent and the medical officer, were
then landed and housed at the Polynesian depot at
Vagadace, and thence distributed by the Government
to such employers as required their services.

The boys' passage money, both to and from Levuka,
was paid by the Government ; the former within twenty-
four hours after inspection, and the latter forty-eight
hours after sailing from Levuka. Ship-owners and

FIJIAN LABOUR SYSTEM. 121

agents were thus relieved from all responsibility in re-
spect of the disposal of the recruits after their arrival in
Fiji.

The owner of the Bobtail Nag received ^"8 per head
for all recruits over sixteen years of age. Of such as
were younger, two were paid for as one. For returns,
£$ per head was allowed. Recruits were engaged for
three years, at ^3 per annum. Clothing on board ship
consisted only of two " sulus " —loose linen waistcloths —
one supplied to each man on engagement, the other on
arrival in port. Sleeping mats were provided instead of
blankets.

The Bobtail Nag-was fitted with the usual fore-and-aft
shelves or " bunks," two on each side of her hold, in
compliance with the Queensland Government regula-
tions. Fijian labour vessels usually dispensed with
bunks, however, the recruits sleeping on mats ranged
along the deck. By this plan less sleeping room was
obtained than by the other ; but, on the other hand,
greater cleanliness could be enforced.

On board Fijian vessels the food consisted solely of
yams and other native vegetables. Pipes and tobacco
were supplied in addition. The full complement of
passengers was fixed at the rate of three for each two
tons of the vessel's registered measurement, two young-
sters being reckoned and paid for as one adult.

So far, good. But in the payment of the labourers at
the expiration of their term of service — three years at
this time, previously five — there was abuse. This I
affirm to have been the case, because I saw that the boys
I took back to their homes in the Bobtail Nag had not
received anything like the value of the money they had
earned in Fiji.

Now the Queensland labourer had frequent oppor-
tunities for learning the value of money. He had his
holiday on Saturday, as well as Sunday. On the former
day he could visit the neighbouring town and its stores,

122 7 HE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

and thus pick up some knowledge of the money value of
things, besides picking up a little English.

The Fijian labourer, on the other hand, was generally
employed on some island of the group far removed from
either town or store. He acquired but little English,
though he quickly learnt the native Fijian. When paid
off, he knew little more of the value of what he had
earned than he did when he arrived.

To prevent his being cheated by the store-keeper, I
suppose, his money was retained by the Government
until he had completed his purchases, and a clerk from
the Immigration Office accompanied him to the stores to
assist him in getting what he wanted — or, as it would
seem, what the storekeeper thought he ought to want.

One day, I happened to be in a general store at Levuka,
when a clerk from the Immigration Office entered, fol-
lowed by a score or so of boys who were being paid off.
These had been at work for either three or five years on
some distant island. They mostly looked as wild and
scared as if they had just been imported. One only,
who had been a house servant in Levuka, could talk Eng-
lish, and he accordingly acted as spokesman for the rest.

The storekeeper had expected their arrival, and was
prepared for them. Indeed, it seemed to me that he
had brought to the front all the damaged articles he was
possessed of.

Conspicuously displayed was a number of three-legged
iron pots, without covers, chipped round the edges, and
all thickly coated with rust.

" Very good belong boil yam," remarked the clerk to
the English-speaking boy, touching one of these pots
with his foot.

" Very good belonga yam," assented the boy, as to a
mere passing remark.

" Give each boy a pot," said the clerk to the store-
keeper, pretending to take the boy's words as an ex-
pression of the general desire to buy these wares.

DIDDLING THE BOYS. 123

Accordingly, each member of the party was forthwith
saddled with a rusty iron pot to take home and boil his
yams in ; cooking the vegetable in such a way being a
method never employed — nor considered desirable by
the islanders.

" You like calico ? " asked the clerk, fingering a " bolt "
of it all stained and damaged.

" Yes, me like calico," mumbled the lad, looking with
evident disfavour upon the sample before him. But
this was considered a purchase by the clerk and the
storekeeper, and the stuff was served out, the wishes
of each individual being not even inquired into.

Then the clerk noticed me observing his proceedings,
and the rest of the conversation was cautiously carried
on in Fijian, with which language I was unacquainted.

I took these boys home in the Bobtail Nag, and saw
what they — or the clerk for them, rather — had bought.
The goods each of them had, if they had been good
and new, would have cost, at the usual prices in that
store, no more than six pounds, if as much. This
estimate included the clothes in wear, as well as the box.

A Queensland "return's" box measured, on an average,
3 feet x i foot 6 inches, and would be chock-full and
weighty. A Fijian labourer, if he possessed a box at
all, had one scarcely two-thirds of that size, with, pos-
sibly, a cheap German shot-gun, almost as dangerous to
fire as to stand in front of. The " Brown- Besses " sold
to Queensland labourers were very superior weapons
by comparison. Besides his chest and gun, the Queens-
land labourer often had a huge bundle or two.

I noticed a great difference between these Fiji " re-
turns " and the majority of labourers from Queensland.
The latter were vastly superior in manners, personal ap-
pearance, and intelligence. The Fijian boys, after their
experience of hard work under a just and reasonable
employer, no doubt presented signs of improvement on
the original savage. These were noticeable, however,

124 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

to a far greater extent in the Queensland " returns," who
had mingled with white labourers on comparatively
familiar terms.

I have often said — and I say it still — that if I was
placed on a New Hebrides beach with a hundred of the
inhabitants, one half of whom had served their three
years in Queensland, and returned, say, within the last
twelve months, I could pick out forty-five of the fifty
solely by their personal appearance. They would pre-
sent a healthier aspect, possess more muscular frames,
and be devoid of the furtive, " wild dog " expression
which the genuine savage usually wears.

I sailed from Levuka in the beginning of November,
with over a hundred and sixty " returns." I had also a
Government agent on board as a passenger. I think it
was on the morning of November 3rd when I took a
departure from Mount Washington, Kandavu I. The
first land I made after that was Fotuna I., where I
landed several " returns," and obtained two fresh recruits.
These came on board unsolicited, having got into the
boat without a word, simply making signs that they
wished to go away in the ship. They were aware of her
destination, the " returns " having told them. They
knew no language except their own ; but, before we
reached Levuka, they could converse freely in Fijian,
having acquired it from my four Fijian boatmen.

These boatmen were big lusty fellows of the true
Polynesian type. They were nominally Christians, and,
sooth to say, as consummate rascals as one could wish
to meet. They said their prayers every morning and
evening. Not infrequently also, they indulged in what
they believed to be hymn-singing — but cats are musical
in comparison to them ! Whenever recruiting was slack
they were constantly advising the mate to kidnap boys,
pointing out various opportunities when it might have
been done.

The chief of the four, Jeremiah, told me he had been

HOSTILITIES AT WAISISSA. 125

a servant of the British Consul at Levuka, before the
annexation of the Fijis by the British Government.
Surely he could not have picked up his rascality in that
service !

From Fotuna I went to Tanna I. There, about
three miles north-west of Waisissa, the mate met with
a warm reception as he approached the shore. A volley
from at least a dozen muskets saluted him ; the enemy
lying- concealed behind rocks and bushes, not twenty
yards distant. Fortunately not a man was hurt, though
both the boats were struck by some of the bullets. A
short quick pull carried them out of range.

Tanna was generally unfavourable to us. I therefore
landed some " returns " I had on board, who belonged
to the island, and then sailed northwards.

There were three Tanna men that I did not put ashore,
however. These had been taken, along with their goods,
to a point on the north-east coast, near to which they had
been engaged some years before. On reaching the shore,
however, they saw a party of men belonging to a hostile
tribe awaiting them, and were consequently afraid to
leave the boat. The mate pulled away along the coast
to another part of the beach. There they got scared
again, and so, finally, begged to be taken back on board
ship.

It appears they belonged to a village up among the
hills inland, which they could not reach without pass-
ing through a hostile district. So they preferred to
remain on board, trusting that peace would have been
made by the time I should return to the island on my
way back to Fiji. If not, they would rather go back to
the colony, and engage for another term of service there,
than risk their lives in attempting to get home.

At Erromanofa I. some more " returns " were landed

o

in Cook's Bay and in Polenia Bay. Thence I sailed to
Sandwich I., where I put another batch ashore at Fareire,
on the north-eastern coast. At this place the poor " re-

126 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

turns," instead of being welcomed home, were coolly told
that they had better have remained in Fiji. It would
seem that, owing to a prolonged and most unusual
drought, the food supply of the district was running
short.

I waited two or three hours at Fareire, dodging off
and on, in hopes that this scarcity of food might stimulate
some of the natives to leave home. None offered to
recruit, however, so I squared away for Hinchinbrook
I., where I anchored.

Next morning, having a fresh fair wind, I ran through
the narrow but deep passage between Pele I. and the
little islet of Kakula, near the Sandwich coast, and so
into " the Sound." It was a short cut to Havannah
Harbour, where I watered the ship.

At various islands north of Sandwich I. the work
of landing " returns " and engaging recruits went on
briskly. We secured many boys in consequence, I
think, of the scarcity of food on the islands. The
drought had not affected the yam plantations to any
great extent apparently. The taro plants, however, on
which root the northern islanders depend as their staple
article of food, had failed miserably. The attenuated
bodies of many of my recruits too plainly evidenced the
extent and consequences of the drought.

I recruited two young women at Mai I., who sub-
sequently deserted at Vila. About them I shall have
more to say presently.

Touching at a part of the south coast of Espiritu Santo
I., we landed three " returns," with their goods. They
belonged to a " bush " tribe, and, unluckily for them,
there was a village of a " beach " tribe not a mile off
where they landed. A party of natives belonging to
this village assembled on the beach as soon as they saw
us. They received the " returns " with seeming friendli-
ness ; but, no sooner were our boats well on their way
back to the ship, than they seized the boxes and bundles

/ ESCAPE AT NAROVOROVO. 127

and made off with them. We could see the unfortunate
" returns " standing disconsolately where we had landed
them. All they had left to represent their three years'
labour was their guns. Probably the possession of these
had alone saved their lives.

At Narovorovo our old enemies of the village near by
planned another attack on us, and were again frustrated
in their pleasant little game.

I was bathing in the stream, from which we had just
filled our water-tanks, when the second mate chanced to
observe some natives dodging behind the bushes close
at hand. He gave the alarm at once. Our boys im-
mediately charged into the scrub and drove out the
lurkers — about a dozen fellows, armed with bows and
arrows. They had sneaked down to try and get a shot
at me, but were thus disappointed. Another five minutes,
however, and my last voyage would have been concluded
in a way I had not bargained for.

At this time I was in the habit of wearing- one of

o

Pulvermacher's Galvanic Belts. I had found it useful as
a preventive of rheumatism, though it failed to cure
me of that affliction altogether. In my hurry to get
dressed, when the alarm was given, I forgot to put it
on, and left it lying on the beach when we returned to
the ship. Subsequently an old native woman found it,
picked it up, and, the next time I returned to the place,
restored it to me, to my great relief. I gave her a
butcher's knife, which she appreciated as much as I did
the belt.

The night after this incident I crossed over to Mallicolo
I., and, next day, anchored among the Maskelyne Is.
There I was obliged to lie for four days, rheumatism
keeping me on my back, unable to move without acute
pain. This did not stop recruiting, however, which went
on merrily meanwhile.

As soon as I was able to move about I got under
way, and, issuing by the south-western passage, worked

128 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

along- the south coast as far as Lennurr I., between which
and the mainland I came to an anchor. Here we spent
Christmas Day.

The effects of the drought were very manifest at this
place. Each of the inhabitants looked as if a good square
meal was a thing he had not enjoyed for a long time.
Of course it was impossible to purchase any native food,
and the supply I had brought from Fiji was already be-
ginning to run short. Luckily, I had brought two tons
of rice with me from Brisbane, as well as a quantity of
biscuit. I had also shipped five tons of yams in Fiji.
But for these provisions, I must have cut my cruise
short long before this.

A large crowd of natives constantly assembled on the
beach of the mainland, during the three days I stayed at
Lennurr. The recruit list soon rose to 135. That,
however, seemed to be the limit, so I sailed on eastward,
with a light southerly breeze, and tried Aurora I.

At Pentecost I. we were again successful. The pro-
visioning of the ship now became a serious question ; so
the G.A. and I held council, coming to the conclusion
that we must return to Fiji forthwith. So he delivered
to me an official letter, notifying me to the effect that I
should, if unable to obtain more provisions, return to
Fiji at once. Whereupon, the boats were hoisted up
and secured, and we began beating back to Havannah
Harbour.

There I purchased all the provisions suitable for
natives that I could find in the place. These were little
enough : a few bags of small white beans, the sort grown
in Fiji for Polynesian labourers, and some maize. With
these additions to such rice and biscuits as I had left, we
reckoned we could last out for three weeks.

When all was done, I had one hundred and forty-four
recruits on board, to which number must be added the
three Tanna boys I still hoped to land at their home.

There were two vessels lying in Havannah Harbour

I LEAVE HAVANNAH HARBOUR. 129

during our visit. The cutter New York, last from Fiji,
and the labour schooner Charybdis. The last-named
had proved too leaky to return to Fiji. Her master had
shipped the labourers she had collected — about forty in
number — on board the schooner Samoa, and had gone
with them to Fiji in that vessel, leaving the Charybdis at
Havannah Harbour. Her crew, in order to save them-
selves the trouble of pumping, laid the Charybdis on the
mud near Semma, and there the relics of her are pro-
bably still lying.

I left Havannah Harbour on the evening of January
7, 1878. Taking advantage of the smooth water under
the lee of the land outside, I there pumped the ship out
dry — and a long spell of work it was, too. Had there
been plenty of provisions on board, I think I should not
have gone to sea that day, for the weather looked dull
and threatening, and the glass was falling. The last
might have been only an indication that the wind was
about to shift into the north-west, which would have
given me a quick run across. Regarding it as such,
I stood off southward on the port tack, the wind fresh-
ening up from E. by S. with a dull cloudy sky.

At four next morning I tacked to northward, heading
for the coast of Sandwich I. The breeze now began to
freshen, becoming squally, with almost continual rain.
During the forenoon we kept an anxious look-out for the
land, for it was now evident that the ship was on the
verge of a cyclone, the centre of which was bearing north-
ward of her. Plainly, the sooner we could get into a safe
anchorage the better; for both pumps had to be kept
going continually to free the ship from water. The sea
was now running strongly, and the old craft was plunging
and straining through it under her lower canvas and
double topsail.

A very heavy squall of wind and dense rain compelled
me to let go the topsail and throat halyards, and to
haul the jib down. After this, about eleven, the rain

K

130 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

cleared away, and the south-east point of Sandwich I.
became visible to us on the weather bow, about eight
miles distant. This gave me our position. Sail was
made again, the yards were checked and the sheets
eased off; and then the ship's head was pointed for South-
West Bay.

I anchored in Vila Harbour at 5 p.m., between the
islets of Vila and Lelika. There I stowed sails, and
pumped three feet of water out of the hold. We were
just in time. That night it blew a hard gale, with very
heavy squalls and thick rain. Had we been outside in
it, I verily believe the old Nag would have foundered
under us.

At daylight, on the 9th, when I turned out of my
bunk, I found the aneroid had fallen very little during
the night, and was then at 29'6$. Going on deck, I
thought at first the weather had improved. Just then
the rain had ceased, and the wind abated considerably.
This might have been due to our position under the lee
of the land. Overhead the sky was dark, a thin scud
now and then flying across it from the east.

I had a sick man in the forecastle — one of my white
crew — for whom I wished to obtain some eggs, or a fowl
or two. Our stock of poultry, purchased in the islands,
had been exhausted. With this in view, therefore, I
went ashore in the north-west arm of the harbour to
visit John Roddin, a settler there. Him I found at
home, engaged in planting maize, along with his native
wife and four or five labourers from some other island.

This was his third crop that season ; two previous
plantings having been ruined by the drought. He
scouted the idea of a hurricane, because the wind was
not coming from north or north-west, but blew steadily
from the east. He thought this would prove no more
than a gale — not a cyclone.

No eggs were procurable, but Roddin's wife caught a
couple of fowls for me, while he and I were breakfast-

THE CYCLONE UPON US. 13 r

ing. Just as we finished our mzal the gale rose again,
a terrific squall bursting over the harbour. It shook the
house we were in, until I thought it would come down
about our ears. Outside, the air was filled with flying
leaves and twigs from the forest ; while sheets of blind-
ing rain descended, completely hiding everything more
than twenty yards off.

This lasted about half an hour, when a lull allowed
the air to clear sufficiently for us to see the flat top of
Pango Hill, at the other end of the harbour. Seizing
my fowls, I bade Roddin and his wife a hasty good-bye.
Then, slipping and stumbling down the " greasy " hill, I
got into my boat, and pulled energetically back to the
ship. Hardly were we alongside, when another howling
squall enveloped us, catching the ship nearly abeam as
she swung at anchor, and heeling her over to her scup-
pers nearly.

One glance at the aneroid in my cabin was enough to
show me that the fullest force of the cyclone was at
hand. The indicator had sunk two-tenths during my
absence, while the steadiness of the wind, blowing from
the east, and its increasing violence, proved to me that
the cyclone was moving directly towards us, and that
the calm centre, round which the hurricane revolved,
would pass over our anchorage.

There was but little time left us in which to make pre-
parations. Half an hour sufficed to complete all. The
maintopmast was housed, and all the bent sails were
marled down to the yards, masts, or booms, with spare
running gear, by the white crew. Meanwhile, the boat-
men and recruits hove in some of the chain the ship was
riding by, during a lull between the squalls. As soon as
this chain was short enough, I let go the second anchor
in twelve fathoms, the other lying in nineteen. Next, I
paid out both cables, until I had only live fathoms on
one side and about twenty on the other, to veer and
haul upon in case of a shift of wind.

132 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

As soon as the next squall brought up the cables taut,
I dropped the lead over the vessel's stern in eight
fathoms, about fifty yards from the fringing reef of Vila
islet. Then I got the port boat on deck, lashing the
starboard one to the davits, so as to leave one side of
the deck clear, as well as to have a boat ready for lower-
ing in case it should be required.

Now, I thought, the ship would be safe if only the
anchors would hold securely in the coral bottom, for the
water was as smooth as the top of a table. When the
starboard braces were hauled in until the yards were
braced sharp up, there was as little surface as possible
for the wind to take hold of.

At noon the glass had run down to 29 inches, and
was still falling fast. The lulls between the squalls
were of less duration. At one o'clock the wind blew
steadily, but as fiercely as any squall, gradually increas-
ing in force until it became a roaring hurricane, envelop-
ing the ship in a thick mist of driving rain, which half
choked us as we crouched under the lee of the bul-
warks and the deck-house. Still the anchors held fast,
and the ship kept her position pretty well.

Once I went below, and found that the aneroid had
fallen to 28*40. Shortly after I had crawled back to
my shelter under the deck-house, the roar of the wind
suddenly rose to a perfect scream, apparently shifting a
couple of points or so southward.

For a moment or two the ship lay trembling, but
without leaving her position. Then her head fell off to
port. A chain had parted, or an anchor had dragged.
A moment she hung steady, then fell off still more,
sweeping round broadside to the wind, being then in-
stantly borne down by the force of the wind until her
spars and port rail were under water.

As I held on to the weather rail aft, looking down
upon the water becalmed under our lee, I saw its dull
grey colour change to a light green. Then I felt a

DRIVEN ON THE REEF. 133

grating and grinding sensation under my feet, and I
knew that all was over with the old Nag.

Almost on her beam ends as she was, the vessel
caught the coral first with the upper part of her port
bilge. Then, as the hurricane pressed her on up the
reef, she righted. So suddenly did she heel over to
windward, that a dozen of us who were hanging on to
the weather rail, were fairly flung on deck by the pres-
sure of wind. The canvas cover of the deck-house, just
above my head, was ripped off and carried away, my
sou'wester going with it. The last was discovered some

WRECK OF THE "BOBTAIL NAG."

days after on the other side of Vila islet, impaled on the
broken branch of a tree.

The rocks on shore were now dimly visible through
the driving mist. That we could see them, in conjunc-
tion with the grinding and jerking we felt beneath us,
too plainly intimated that the ship was being slowly
driven over the reef towards the harbour mouth. Should
she get into deep water, I knew she must now go down
at once. What was more, we should all be drowned in
that case, for no one could swim amid the churning foam.

134 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

However, she was still partly held by the anchor, and
two hundred fathoms of chain hanging from the bows.

The wind had most hold upon the foremast, so our
axes went to work without delay. A few cuts divided
the lanyards of the weather rigging, and then, the wind
helping the axe, the mast with all its yards and gear was
sent into the water under the lee bow. About the same
time the ship's nose stuck fast in a hollow of the reef,
and her further progress was thus arrested.

The water had now risen to within two feet of the
upper deck forward, while abaft it was three feet above
the keelson. The recruits presently tumbled up from
below in hot haste, crouching down on deck, under cover
of the weather bulwark.

Two of the Fijians jumped over the lee quarter with
a life buoy, taking the end of a thin line with them.
Their intention was to swim ashore, and then, by means
of the line, to land a warp from the ship. However,
they were swept away, and, for a time, I thought they
were drowned. Fortunately, I was mistaken ; they got
ashore all right under the lee of the island, and joined
us again within half an hour.

We then lifted the boat that had been lashed on deck
and launched her over the lee taffrail ; the infernal
roaring and shrieking of the hurricane continuing all
the while with unabated vigour. Talking — even shout-
ing— was of no use. You might have discharged a
musket within a yard of a man's ear without his hearing
it!

Just as the boat slipped over the rail into the water,
there came a sudden change. The uproar seemed to
cease all at once, and there fell a dead calm. The shore
became faintly visible through the thin mist of drizzling
rain. Jumping down into the cabin, I found the aneroid
had fallen to 28*32. This was not very low for a hurri-
cane, but the instrument was an old one. The time was
twenty minutes past three in the afternoon.

"ALL HANDS ASHORE!" 135

I judged we were now within the calm centre of the
cyclone. As soon as that should have passed over us,
a renewal of the hurricane was to be expected, probably
from an opposite quarter. Now, therefore, was the best
time for seizing a chance of getting ashore.

The second boat was accordingly lowered into the
water, and got round on the shoreward side of the ship.
The women, over a dozen in number, were first landed,
most of the men swimming. Their woolly heads, bob-
bing about in the water, looked like a raft of cocoa-nuts.
Some of the " bushmen " were unable to swim. These
were supported by others who could. All reached the
land safely, at about eighty yards distance from the ship.

Our revolvers, which we kept always loaded, were
buckled on ; the second boat taking ashore all our guns
and ammunition. There was a large village on the islet

o o

of Vila, and I knew that the inhabitants would take
every advantage they could of our necessities. The
ship's papers and chronometer were also put into the
boat, together with all the provisions we could collect
from above or below water. Amongst other things, we
saved a ten-gallon keg about half full of good Ageston
rum — a Queensland brand. This got put on one side,
however, and was not landed till the next day.

The calm lasted fifty minutes, and then a light puff
came up from the south-west. There was not a moment
to lose.

" All hands ashore !" I shouted, tumbling into a boat,
followed quickly by the G. A. and the Fijians. Hardly
had we got half way to the shore when the hurricane
once more burst upon us — right in our teeth, too. For-
tunately, the trees and rocks of the islet somewhat broke
its force. By leaping into the water up to our waists,
we were just able to bring the boat to the beach and
haul her up above high-water mark.

The vessel was now completely hidden from sight by
the rain and spray. Three of the sailors and two Tanna

136 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

islanders were still on board of her, the second boat
remaining alongside.

We had landed near the northern end of the beach
fringing the east coast of Vila. Extending back from
this beach there was level ground for some thirty yards,
beyond which the land rose abruptly to a height of
seventy or eighty feet. The whole of the little island
was covered with dense brushwood and forest, under the
lee of which we were completely sheltered.

Our first thought was bestowed on our firearms ; our
second concern was for our provisions. We piled up
the last in a heap, placing our loaded rifles on the top,
and covering the whole with a main-hatch tarpaulin.

Materials for a fire were then collected, but the only
box of matches brought on shore turned out to be wet
and useless. I therefore proposed to the G.A. that he
and I should go to the native village and get a " fire-
stick." To this he agreed, so off we set, taking a bee-
line through the " bush " in the direction I thought would
bring us to the village.

It was a rough journey. We had to force our way
through thick underwood, matted together with vines
and creepers ; while, overhead, the hurricane tore and
roared through the tree-tops, rending off huge branches,
and occasionally prostrating trees.

At last, breathless and not without bruises, we reached
the village. The first house we came to — or what re-
mained of it rather — lay flat on the ground. The next
was being blown away piecemeal, for the open " sing-
sing" ground lying to windward of it gave free access
to the wind. An old Kanaka was the only inhabitant
to be seen. He was dancing wildly about the ruin,
yelling and gesticulating.

Close by was another house, which had caught fire,
and was blazing furiously. Here was what we wanted.
I seized a blazing brand, part of a rafter, and made off
back on our tracks with the G.A. close to my heels.

THE NIGHT OF THE WRECK. 137

Getting into an open path leading to the beach, the wind
bowled the two of us along at a great rate, till a fallen
tree across the track brought us both up breathless.

After all, we had taken our trouble for nothing. My
fire-stick had gone out by the time we gained the beach.
Happily, during our absence, the mate had found a bottle
of brandy and a box of dry matches amongst the stores.
So we freshened ourselves up with a nip, turned the
boat keel uppermost, lit our pipes, and laid down under
it just as night fell.

As for the miserable naked recruits, they stowed
themselves away in holes and corners of the rocks, or
behind trees, no doubt cursing the white men for having
persuaded them to leave home. Notwithstanding wet
clothes and the rough stony ground, I managed to get
a few hours' sleep. Waking up about midnight, I found
that the hurricane was over, and only a light breeze
blowing from south-west. The weather had become
fair, though the sky was still overcast.

CHAPTER IX.

SHIPWRECKED ON VILA ISLAND, 1878.

After the hurricane — Changes in tJie landscape — The wreck — The
keg of rum — Erecting a camp — Hoiv I disposed it — Our
supply of provisions — / set off for Havannali Harbour —
Effects of the cyclone there — The New York and the Charyb-
dis wrecked— Return to Vila — Inspection of the vvreck — •
The Sibyl and the Stanley — Arrangement with Captain
Kilgour — The natives upon us — A Kanaka " man-o-wce-
wee " — A parley — They try to bounce me — / resort to strategy

— With excellent results — Visited by a missionary — We
ought to thank Providence ! — My simple little plan — The
missionary saves us — Hospitalities — The islanders relieve
me — Discipline — Mele islanders visit us — Our women elope
— Details — Vessels visit us — The islanders have no more
food to spare — / meditate a raid — Return of my " boys "-

— The Stanley to the rescue — We sail for Fiji — / go into
hospital — My certificate — Return to Queensland— Govern-
ment regulations — The question of firearms — Hoiv the FrencJi
and Germans step in — Affair of the Chance — Politics —
Obnoxious regulations — The Premier and the Polynesians —
" Big fella chief no plenty good ! " — Return passage money —
An unfounded accusation — " Big Massa Johnny Douglas ! "

THE morning after the wreck was a bright and clear
one. The harbour wore an aspect that was quite novel
to us. The day before, the hills and shores around us
had been sumptuously clothed with rich tropical verdure
—greens of many tints and varying degrees of brilliancy,
relieved by scattered patches of bright yellow, reel,
brown, purple or crimson.

Now, alas ! a blight seemed to have passed over the
landscape, leaving it as dead and forlorn as though it

THE WRECK. 139

had just endured a northern winter. Not a leaf was left
on the trees : they stood naked, stripped bare of their
foliage, bruised, gashed, and torn by their recent
struggle with the hurricane. The whole land had
been desolated, and now wore a dull grey aspect,
streaked here and there with patches of white, where
the coral rock showed out on the hill-sides.

The strips of yellow sand along the shores were
strewn with broken boughs. In some places, great

O I O

trees lay prone across them, their once lofty crowns half
buried in the lapping waves. Alone the water smiled
and sparkled in the morning sun, as though laughing at
the ruin which had swept over the land.

The Nag lay where we had left her, though her
position was somewhat altered. The main- mast had
now disappeared as well as the fore, which we had cut
away. The second boat was still alongside, but full of
water.

Our first consideration was breakfast. A tin of meat,
with some of the few dry biscuits we had saved, sufficed
us, and then the G. A. and I went off to the wreck. We
found the vessel lying listed over to starboard.

The hands who had been left on board, being afraid
that she might be blown off the reef again, had cut away
the main-mast, which was floating in the water under the
quarter. Then they had got hold of the rum keg, and,
after that, I suppose, the hurricane did not much trouble
most of them. The boatswain was sober, but all the
rest were helplessly drunk. The seamen were noisy and
quarrelsome, the Kanakas almost insensible.

We set to work to fish up out of the hold everything
in the shape of provisions that was worth saving. The
biscuit was found to be irretrievably ruined. The sails
were sent ashore and spread out to dry on the beach.
Some of them were used for building tents ; upon others
such rice, maize, and beans, as we could save were laid
out to dry in the sun. By nightfall our temporary camp

MO THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

had been fixed up, and we had got our ammunition and
stores under cover.

I triced up the main-boom between two large trees,
lashing it to them. Over this I spread the main-sail,
extending it out on either side, tent-fashion, and securing
the flaps to the nearest trees and stumps. Under the
boom I fixed the topgallant-mast, spreading another
sail over it and underneath the mainsail, so as to form a
tent-and-fly— and a capacious one at that. This served
me for headquarters.

Of course the rum keg was carefully stowed there,
since it appeared to possess a strong attraction for at
least two of my four seamen. I gave them the foresail,
with such spars as they wanted, and marked out a spot
some fifty yards away from my tent. There they erected
one for themselves. The four Fijian boatmen put up a
small tent close to headquarters. The recruits stripped
the bunks and lower deck out of the wreck, and with
the planks and scantling constructed rude huts along the
beach, on either side of my tent.

All the culinary gear had been brought ashore, and
the recruits' cooking pots were set up. However, when
I came to overhaul the stock of provisions, I found I
could afford them only one meal a day ; even then there
would be no more than enough to last ten days.

There was an ample supply of fishing-lines and hooks,
however, as well as three or four pounds of dynamite,
and some detonators. Fish of many kinds abounded in
the harbour, and might be had for the trouble of getting
them. Wood suitable for bowrs, fishinpf-arrows, and

o

spears was also plentiful enough. So the boys easily
managed to obtain further provision than their allowance
of "crowdy" — as we termed a mixture of damaged
maize, beans, and rice, all boiled together.

I left Vila on January nth in one of the boats, with
the Fijians, making for Havannah Harbour, in order to
obtain news, as well as give notice of my disaster. In

DAMAGE DONE AT HAVANNAH. 141

passing Tukatuka, I observed that the houses belonging
to Ford — a settler who resided there — had suffered
severely. I could not afford time to visit him then,
however.

When I arrived at Havannah Harbour, I found Mr.
Young, the proprietor of Rahni plantation, taking
luncheon with a visitor. They were seated under
Young's roof-tree, certainly, but the walls of his house
had been blown down, and the roof itself was on the
ground! The mission house half-way up the harbour
had been completely gutted — doors, window- frames, and
most of the roof, had been carried away bodily.

At Semma, the house formerly inhabited by the late
Mr. Hebblewhite, which was now occupied by Captain
Brown, had escaped uninjured, though the large store at
the back of it had been levelled to the ground. " Black
Harry" Palmer's houses had disappeared altogether, and
so had Salisbury's new iron store. The little cutter
New York had sunk while at anchor, and the Ckarybdis
had lost her masts and was a total wreck.

There being no other vessel in the port, it was useless
for me to remain there. So, next day, I started on my
way back to Vila, taking with me Messrs. Brown and
Salisbury, also the skipper and owner of the New York.
These gentlemen came, at my suggestion, to survey the
wreck of the Bobtail Nag. We stayed overnight with
Ford, at Tukatuka, reaching my camp at Vila on the
following day.

During my absence the Rev. Mr. Mackenzie, of Erra-
kova — a mission on the south coast about two miles
distant — had paid a visit to Vila. He had left word for
me that he would come over again when I returned.

Our survey of the old Nag was a brief one, for it was
too plainly evident that she could never float again.
Her "back" was broken and hogged up; the stump of
the main-mast had risen through the deck, tearing its
" coat " adrift ; while the main-beam was in two pieces,

142 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

and several butts had started above water. In the hold
some of the floor-planks were protruding through the
stone ballast, and her bottom had completely given way
to the weight of the ship. She was a complete wreck,
and a report was drawn up accordingly.

A day or two after this I was informed that the
Stanley and the Sibyl were at anchor in Havannah
Harbour, so off I went again to seek assistance from one
or other of them. The Sibyl was homeward bound with
recruits. Her master, Captain Turner, offered to call at
Vila and take my white crew on board, giving them a
passage to Maryborough.

The Stanley had " returns " on board, whom she was
taking to their homes. Not without a great deal of
bargaining I induced Captain Kilgour to come to an
agreement. He was to take my recruits to Fiji for the
sum of £4. IQS. per adult head. The boatmen, my
three Tanna " returns," the G.A. and myself were to
have free passages granted to us in addition. Finally,
he was to have three weeks' grace in order to land the
returns he then had on board.

This agreement was formally drawn up in duplicate,
and I then went on board the Sibyl. That vessel pre-
sently got under way, and in due course we arrived at
Vila. Captain Turner then took on board my white
seamen, six in number, and sailed with them. I must
say I was glad to get rid of these fellows. One or two
of them were only a source of trouble to me, quarrelling
and squabbling continually, and, I was afraid, might
occasion trouble with the natives of the island.

As I had expected, it was not long before the islanders
sought to make profit out of our mishap. Fortunately,
my knowledge of one of their superstitions enabled me
to choke them off easily enough.

But I must go back in my narrative to relate this.
During the afternoon of the day after the wreck, when
we were all at work fixing up our camp, one of the

A KANAKA " MAN-&- WEE-WEE? 143

Fijians — who seemed to keep their eyes all round them
—said to me : —

" Cappen ! man Vila, he come ! "

About a score of the natives of the islet presently hove
in sight, coming towards us in single file along the beach.
Each man of them carried some weapon or another, and
all were more or less painted and feathered. The leader
was a great swell. He sported a bunch of cock's tail-
feathers stuck in his wool ; he had red paint daubed on
his face ; and his waist-mat and ample body-cloth were
stained a bright turmeric-yellow. As I soon discovered,
this genius had served a term in New Caledonia. He
presented, consequently, a burlesque imitation of his
former employers. In particular, he had learned how
to jabber and gesticulate as well as any Frenchman.

Now, I had rather a large quantity of tobacco, beads,
and other " trade " wares, lying about loose in my tent.
As it was decidedly inadvisable, under our circumstances,
to let these gentlemen see what I was possessed of, I
advanced to meet them.

" What do you want ? " asked I.

" Me want to speak you," replied the imitation
" man-o'-wee-wee." And he tried to walk past me to
the tent. I brought him quickly to a halt by seizing his
arm.

" What you want ? " I again asked.

" Very good you go look chief belonga me ; he like
speak you."

" Suppose chief he want to speak me, very good he
come here." But this did not suit our swell. Every
cock fights best on his own dunghill !

" Chief, he old man. No savey walk good."

This was a lie, and I knew it.

" Me Cappen," I objected, with an assumption of
dignity.

" Suppose chief he want speak me, very good he
come here. What he want ? "

144 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Seeing that there was little chance of persuading me
to accompany him to the village, the " noble savage "
folded his arms, struck an attitude, and said : —

" Chief, he speak — how much you pay belong stop
along Vila."

I had expected this, knowing their cheerful little ways,
and was ready for him.

" Me no pay chief belong stop along Vila."

At this my lord stamped his foot and frowned. I
continued : —

" You been broke ship belonga me ! "

The frown now gave way to a look of surprise.

" By-an-by, man-o'-war come ; me speak Cappen
belong man-o'-war — Man Sandwich make big wind, big
wind broke ship belonga me ! "

Consternation and surprise appeared in his face at
this, a total abandonment of the defiant attitude show-
ing how it had impressed him.

" Man Sandwich no make big wind," he blurted out.

" Yes, man Sandwich make him. All atime, big wind
he come along here," said I, pointing to north-west.

" This fellow no all the same ; he come along here," —
pointing easterly towards the mainland of Sandwich ;
" that fellow big wind, man Sandwich make him ; he
broke ship alonga island belonga you. Me speak
Cappen belong man-o'-war, suppose you no look out."

It was such an absurd idea to me that I was rather
surprised at the effect of my words.

There was a little muttering, after which the whole
party turned round and walked away ; and that was the
last I heard of the matter.

On the first Sunday after the wreck, Mr. Mackenzie
visited me for the second time. I was in camp, but he
only stayed long enough to hold service. In his dis-
course he endeavoured to impress upon our minds
that we ought to be thankful to Providence for our pre-
servation. By the same rule, I suppose, we ought to

MY SIMPLE LITTLE PLAN. 145

have thanked Providence for the loss of the ship ! I
was more disposed to attribute our escape from drowning
to the fact that I had put back into Vila Harbour, than
to consider it due to a special interposition in our favour.
Next day Mr. Mackenzie appeared again, and this time
inquired into my resources. I told him briefly what they
were, specifying the number of days for which I had
rations, and what " trade " I had to barter for more ;
finally hinting that we were well armed, and that food
must be procured somehow.

" But surely you would not fight to obtain it ? " he
inquired, .if I remember aright.

My answer was short, but very much to the point.
I fancy it rather fluttered the reverend gentleman. I
merely intimated that, if the natives possessed any store
of food at all, I meant to have some of it, by whatever
means I could, when my own supplies gave out.

" I will speak to the chiefs of my villages of ' wor-
shippers ' — I call them worshippers, for I cannot say
they are Christians. I shall endeavour to make some
arrangement for your people ; " and away he went back
to his home.

He was as orood as his word, and better. I am orlad I

o o

have it in my power to express my sense of gratitude to
this good man and to his " worshippers."

On the morrow he appeared again, accompanied by
the chief men of three villages — Pango, Errakova, and
Erratapa. After very little parleying, these chiefs walked
off with ninety of my recruits, promising to keep them as
long as they had any food to spare, till the Stanley
should arrive to take us away. The boys were divided
into three parties, numbering respectively thirty-five,
thirty, and twenty-five. One party was told off to each
village ; the one comprising thirty men going to Erra-
kova, I remember.

At the same time another contingent, six in number,
went to stay with Roddin, on similar terms. All Jack's

U6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

houses and fences had been blown down. He had begun
to rebuild, and was sowing corn, so he was glad to have
some assistance.

A day or two later a bush chief who lived a few miles
distant from Roddin's place, took away ten more. This
potentate had a neighbour who was likewise smitten with
the desire to do a charitable action. Perhaps he was
not unwilling to seize the chance of entertaining strangers
who could teach his tribe dances and songs new to them,
and relate stories. He visited my camp accordingly,
and walked off with another batch of ten boys.

I had now only twenty-eight recruits, the three Tanna
" returns," and the four Fijians to feed. The G.A. and
I had plenty for ourselves, the cabin stores having been
saved almost uninjured.

The recruits left in camp included all the women, the
married men, and those who were accustomed to the use
of firearms. Yet even this small complement gave me
trouble occasionally. They were still on a short allow-
ance of food, and sometimes, when they had not been
fortunate in catching fish, they were apt to steal from the
Vila people whenever a chance offered. Trouble natu-
rally arose in consequence. Whenever an offence of the
kind was proved, I always made restitution ; then I
triced the offender up to a tree, and gave him a sound
thrashing.

One day a native of Mai I., who was then residing in
the islet of Mele, in Pango Bay, two miles from us,
visited the camp along with several Mele men. They
got into conversation with the two women I had re-
cruited at Mai, and about whom I mentioned I should
have something to relate. The night after these women
deserted us, stealing a Vila canoe, and crossing over in
it to the other side of the harbour-mouth.

They were missed next morning, and the canoe could
be seen lying on the opposite beach. The boys who
went over to fetch it back reported that the women's

VESSELS VISIT US. 147

footmarks were plainly discernible on the sand, pointing
in the direction of Mele. In the afternoon I visited the
islet, but was unable to recover the fair deserters. They
were subsequently removed from Mele and taken back
to their own island in one of Her Majesty's schooners.

Once or twice a week two of the Fijian boatmen and
half a dozen of the boys got a Vila man to guide them,
and went inland to the bush villages. There they
would pass the night and come back next day. The
Fijians took tobacco and pipes along with them, and
the whole party would return laden with food, chiefly
consisting of bananas. While on these visits they would
be sure to have enjoyed two or three good meals to
boot.

Another cyclone passed over about three weeks after
the wreck. We felt only the north-eastern quadrant of
it. The camp was so well sheltered that we suffered no
injury. An earthquake of short duration also occurred
about the same time. The G.A. happened to be bath-
ing, and his head was under water when the first shock
came. It gave him a good scare, as may be supposed.
He said he thought the bottom of the harbour was
giving way under him.

Three vessels visited the harbour before the Stanley
arrived to take us away. These were the Daphne,
Captain Mackay, from Fiji ; the Chance, Captain Satini,
from Maryborough; and the Aurora, a French schooner,
from Noumea. Each of the British masters visited us,
and offered me all the assistance that lay in their power,
Captain Satini purchasing one of my boats. The French
skipper, on the contrary, never came near us.

Nearly a month slowly elapsed after the departure of
the Stanley from Havannah Harbour. I looked out
anxiously for her day after day. The natives who had
befriended us were finding it a serious drain on their
resources to support my recruits, and at last matters
came to a climax.

148 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

One day some Errakova men came down to our camp,
and told me they had no more food to spare for my
recruits. So, the next day, the whole ninety were to be
returned on my hands.

Here was a pretty go ! I had no more than sufficient
damaged rice to furnish five or six meals all round. The
question arose, therefore, what was to be done when that
small supply had been exhausted ? The only solution of
the problem that I could see, lay in this : — The Mele
men had taken advantage of my situation, and evinced
some hostility. They had persuaded the two Mai
women to desert, and were keeping them from me. The
plantations belonging to these Mele people were upon
the main island. I could certainly obtain food by
blockading the islet of Mele, and so prevent the inhabi-
tants from crossing over to the main, while I took their
yams. I should afterwards have paid them in " trade,"
of course. It would have been rather a rough way of
driving a bargain, no doubt ; but, had it been necessary
to obtain a further supply of provisions for my people, I
believe I must have adopted such an expedient.

But where was the Stanley all this time ?

In order to get news of her, I started off in the boat
next morning, taking the Fijian crew, intending to run
for Havannah Harbour. Just after leaving the shore, I
saw a long string of half-starved boys, carrying their
bundles of sleeping mats, slowly crawling along the
beach towards the camp. They comprised the first
batch of recruits returned on my hands. Long before I
got back to Vila, the whole ninety had come in.

With a fresh fair wind I ran the boat across the bay,
and past the " devil " country. When we were nearing
Tukatuka Point, a boatman sang out, " Sail ho ! " and,
right ahead of us, there appeared a schooner, standing
towards us close-hauled. It proved to be the Stanley
at last.

On boarding her, I found that all the settlers of

THE "STANLEY" TO THE RESCUE. 149

Havannah Harbour had come in her. I had given out
that, before leaving Vila, I intended to sell the wreck,
with all the remaining stores. So these gentlemen had
come along- to attend the sale. Captain Kilgour had
some of his " returns " on board still, which was contrary
to our agreement. However, I could sooner put up
with that than that he should have delayed any longer,
in order to land them.

The Stanley anchored in Vila Harbour during the
afternoon, and my recruits were shipped at once, to-
gether with such provisions as remained. For Captain
Kilgour had not a great stock on board, so he said,
though he had contracted to feed my boys on the
passage to Fiji.

Next day the wreck and gear were sold, as also some
of the " trade." A considerable quantity of this, how-
ever, I gave away to the chiefs who had entertained my
men at their villages, not forgetting the two " bush "
chiefs, to whom I sent off messengers as soon as the
Stanley had anchored.

Captain Kilgour purchased the wreck, leaving a man
in charge of her when we sailed for Fiji. The hull was
afterwards burned, for the sake of obtaining the copper
fastenings ; the anchors and chains were recovered also.

Our passage to Levuka in the Stanley occupied about
ten days. Lucky it was that it took no longer ; for,
when we anchored, we had only one day's food and two
days' water remaining on board.

The medical inspector passed all the boys as fit for
service — after a little good feeding. Four of them were
pronounced to be under age, however; so I received
payment for a hundred and forty adults only.

While I remained at Levuka, a huge ulcer developed
on the inside of my right thigh. It was a result of the
accident that had befallen me at Maryborough, previous
to this voyage, no doubt accelerated by chronic rheuma-
tism. I was obliged to become an inmate of the

150 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

hospital, where I lay for three weeks under the care
of Dr. — now Sir William — MacGregor, subsequently
Administrator of British New Guinea.

On my arrival, I had made out a report of the wreck
for the collector of customs, and had enclosed with it
my master's certificate, pending an inquiry. No inquiry
was held, however, but my certificate was not returned.
As the time drew nigh when the monthly steamer was
due to leave for Sydney, in which I wished to return, I
was obliged to threaten the collector with legal proceed-
ings if he retained my certificate any longer. Then I
got it back. No inquiry was made by the Fijian
authorities ; but I believe the evidence of my crew was
taken at Maryborough, when the Sibyl arrived there.

I left Fiji in the beginning of May, taking passage in
the Australian Steam Navigation Company's s.s. Went-
worth, Captain Saunders. On reaching Sydney I re-
mained there about a week, when, in consequence of a
telegram from Maryborough, I went on thither in the
s.s. Bale hit ha, Captain Beel.

We arrived at Maryborough in the evening of May
24. Next day I accepted the command of the brigantine
Stormbird, 160 tons register, which was then lying in
the river. She was owned by a Maryborough firm.

During my absence from Queensland, a Regulation
had been passed forbidding the export of firearms from
the colony to the South Sea Islands. Another Regula-
tion, passed about the same time, forbade the giving of
" trade " to the friends of recruits.

These two Regulations were passed as " party "
measures, I think, not from merely humane motives.
If, however, they were so intended, then the ministry of
that day must have been extremely short-sighted.

Luckily for us, they were not enforced for some time
after. When they were, the immediate and only result
was to transfer the firearms trade from British Colonial
hands into those of German and French traders.

THE FIREARMS REGULATION. 151

At the present time the principal article of trade in
the New Hebrides and Solomon Is., with the French
and German traders, consists of British-made Snider
carbines. A large proportion of these bear the
" TOWER " mark upon the locks — whether forged or not,
I cannot say. Had the Queensland ministries which
enacted these Regulations been wide awake, or, perhaps,
not wilfully blind, they might have foreseen this.

It has materially conduced to transfer the South Sea
Island trade out of British and into German hands.

Since the date of these Regulations^ Polynesians,
when leaving Queensland, have acquired the habit of
taking home with them small sums of money — say two
to five pounds — in order to purchase firearms and
ammunition from French and German traders. Pre-
viously, they had always spent every farthing of their
wages before leaving the colony.

The iron schooner Chance was one of the first labour
vessels which sailed after the Firearms Regulation be-
came law. In the beginning of January she was cleared
at the custom house, at Maryborough, for a recruiting
voyage. She had a long list of " returns " on board,
with their baggage, which latter, as usual, included a
number of muskets.

In the afternoon of the day she was cleared, the
harbour-master made a raid on her, and confiscated all
the firearms and ammunition to be found on board,
except such as was provided for the vessel's protection.
Most of the confiscated firearms owned by the "boys"
had been purchased by them prior to the publication of the
new Regulation. The vessel's owner, or agent, at once
wired to Brisbane, complaining of this most unjust pro-
ceeding. Eventually, the arms were returned to the boys ;
but the minister of the day added, as a rider to his licence,
that the restitution was " not to be taken as a precedent."

On January 21, a deputation of gentlemen, interested
in the Polynesian labour trade, waited upon the Hon.

152 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

John Douglas, who was then the Premier, to make
representations against the new Regulations. The Pre-
mier refused to sanction the giving of " trade," but said
he would consult with his colleagues respecting firearms.
When I sailed in the Stormbird, in June, the G.A. who
accompanied me was instructed not to enforce these
obnoxious Regulations.

The Premier was afterwards obliged to receive another
deputation on this subject. In March, when at Mary-
borough, he paid a visit to the Magnolia sugar planta-
tion. The Kanaka labourers there, hearing that the
" big fella chief," who would not allow them to take their
firearms to the islands, was then in the manager's house,
rolled up and demanded an audience. The manager,
Mr. Boughey, refused to allow his guest to be troubled
by them. However, the boys forced their way in,' and
spoke their minds to the Premier pretty freely. They
felt they had been deceived by the Government, which,
when they arrived in the colony, allowed them to pur-
chase firearms, but now prohibited them from taking
their property home with them.

They got no satisfactory answer, and, in a very bad
humour, they left the " big fella chief," whom they
characterized as being " no plenty good."

Of course, Boughey did his best to pacify them.
When they were leaving, he happened to propose that
they should give three cheers for the Queen. This,
however, they flatly refused to do.

On March 11, a meeting of employers of Polynesian
labour was held at Mackay, to consider a recent demand
that had been made by the Government, through the
sub-immigration agent of the port, for the quarterly
payment of fifteen shillings on account of each Poly-
nesian labourer, as a provision for his return passage.
This, at the end of a boy's three years' service, would
amount to nine pounds, whereas three to five pounds was
the ruling rate for a " return's " passage money.

POLITICAL "EMBROIDERY." 153

Hitherto it had been left to the option of an employer
to make these payments, or else to provide two sureties
in ten pounds apiece, to guarantee the cost of each
Polynesian's return passage. Planters usually preferred
the latter alternative.

The minister now demanded both payments and
bonds as well. In one of his speeches or reports, he
gave as his reason for this that three employers had
become insolvent, and, the bonds and sureties having
been neglected, their labourers' return home had not
been provided for.

That this accusation was an unfounded one, was
shown by Mr. Paxton, of Mackay, in a letter published in
"The Brisbane Courier " of April 3. He showed that
the labourers on the estates of the three insolvents
referred to, had been paid their wages, and had been
provided with their passages home by the mortgagees,
in each instance.

But then, politicians are apt to " embroider " a little,
when election times draw nigh ; which puts me in mind
of some verses that appeared about this time in a
Mackay newspaper, and, I think, in a Maryborough one
also. We often roared them out over our evening grog,
on board the Stormbird.

Some stories of alleged ill-treatment of Polynesian
labourers, in the Mackay district, having been circulated
by interested parties, the recently appointed immigration
agent at Maryborough was instructed by the Govern-
ment to proceed to Mackay, and to investigate these
charges. This he did, and made his report with the
usual result — none at all !

Here are the verses, with which I shall close this
chapter.

(Air — The fine old English Gentleman.}
Severe and grave of aspect, from Maryborough town
He came, with book and pencil, and with dark official frown.
He shuddered as he dwelt upon the horrors of Mackay,
And when he met a coloured gent, in dulcet tones would say—

154 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

(Air — Up in a Balloon.}

" Have you got your ki-ki ? Do you like him tea ?
Suppose him overseer fight, just talk alonga me.
Do you like him hard work, or plenty walk about ;
Big Massa Johnny Douglas, he plenty good, look out."

He wandered through plantations, and he fossicked through the cane,
With tales of dread atrocities still flitting through his brain.
At last he met a sable youth from Tongoa's sunny isle,
Who greeted the inspector with a mild fraternal smile —

" Yes, me got me ki-ki. What for you no can see ?
Overseer bery good ; no fight alonga me.

But wine, blancmange, and oyster sauce me nebber yet enjoy ;
Big Massa Johnny Douglas, plenty gammon, longa boy."

That stern official closed his book and shed a silent tear,
And thought of rosy billets with six hundred pounds a year.
Then, rolling up his humble swag, he quickly sped away,
And standing on the steamer's deck he warbled forth this lay —

"Yes, they've got their ki-ki, as I can plainly see ;
Election times are drawing nigh — the game is up with me.
From the Logan to the Pioneer the cry is still the same — •
Big Massa Johnny Douglas must try some other game ! "

CHAPTER X.

FIRST VOYAGE OF THE STOKMBIRD, 1878.

/ sail for the New Hebrides — Tom Tamoan — His story — Black
Beach, Tanna I. — Battle between Ibet and Worgus tribes —
Fugitive zuomen recruited — DinaJi — The conquerors demand
the runaways — / decline to surrender them — Boat swamped
at Verigo — The mate chases a thief — Fotuna I. — " The
Baby " — Aniwa I. — / visit Mr. Paton — Explanations and
promises — A lunatic recruited — At Batnapni Bay — Story of
Tabbiseisei — Murders committed by him — Mota I. — Urepa-
rapara I. — Towing the ship out of the lagoon — At Valua I. —
Recovering an anchor with dynamite — How another skipper
tried the dodge — Espiritu Santo I. — Pentecost I. — How
Tabbiseisei murdered Mr. Brown — Tabbisangivul's tale —
Commander De Houghton takes vengeance — Trivial punish-
ment occasions more murders — Respective action of British
and French naval officers — Why British subjects naturalise
as French citizens — Ford's runaways — How I adjusted
matters — A squall off Cato Reef- — Nearly lost — Arrival at
Maryborough — Bankruptcy of owner — Reappointment — The
Rev. George Brown — His expedition — Chastisement of the
savages — Reflections upon this incident.

I SAILED from Maryborough in command of the Storm-
bird, on June 12, 1878, bound first for the New
Hebrides with " returns."

Among the Kanaka boatmen I had shipped for the
voyage was one ordinarily called Tom — an abbrevia-
tion of his real name — Tamoan. He had been a long
time in Queensland, ever since he was a child, and
could neither remember the name of the vessel that had
brought him there nor that of her master. Soon after
his arrival, he had run off from his employer with some

156 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

others, stolen a boat with them, and gone north along
the coast. They came to grief on Wide Bay bar, and
all were drowned except Tom. He was found by some
lumberers in a half- crazy state, and had been taken to
Maryborough by them, where he had worked for various
employers during ten or twelve years.

I had known this youth for a couple of years, and he
constantly asked me to find his island and take him
home. All he knew about it was that its native name
was Mungigi, and that it was near other islands, of
which one was called Mungava. I had searched all my
charts and "directories" in vain — I could not locate his
home. At last he had fastened himself upon me, per-
suading me to engage him as a boatman ; in the hope
that, while cruising with me, he might some day come
to his native island.

After a rather long passage, the Stormbird reached
Tanna I., where I anchored off Black Beach one morning.
The boats were soon down, and off looking for recruits,
but without success. Towards evening the sound of firing
was heard in the direction of I bet, a bay and islet about
half a mile away from our anchorage. It speedily became
evident that a battle was going on. As we learned
eventually, the Worgus people had attacked the I bet
tribe, and defeated them. Ere long the various sounds
of conflict died away, while thick smoke rising above
the trees proclaimed that the victors had set fire to the
houses of the village.

Shortly afterwards a faint " coo-ee " was heard from
the shore. Away went the boats in the direction of the
hail, presently returning with five Ibet women. The
eldest of these, a woman of about thirty-five, gave her
name as Nuswoiu or Dinah, the latter name having been
bestowed upon her in Queensland, where she had been
in service. Speaking good English, she told us that the
village had been destroyed, many of its people killed,
and the survivors driven into the forest. She and her

FUGITIVE WOMEN RECRUITED. 157

companions desired to ship as recruits, and had swum off
to the boats with that object. She also stated that she
had been a widow for years, and that the I bet chief who
had been killed in the recent action was her brother.
The youngest of the fugitives — a slip of a girl — just old
enough to be recruited, was the chief's daughter, and
consequently Dinah's niece. The husbands of the other
women had also been killed in the battle. This story
seeming probable enough, I accepted the party as recruits.

Just before sunset, the boats went off to Black Beach
again, in response to another " coo-ee." They brought
back one more Ibet runaway, a man this time. These
were the only individuals of the Ibet tribe we came in
contact with.

Before I left Black Beach, which I did the following
morning, a party of the Worgus invaders hailed the
boats near Ibet. They had witnessed the escape of the
women the previous evening, and now demanded that
we should give them up. They claimed the poor things
as1 their property, acquired by the fortune of war. As an
alternative, they insisted on being paid an exorbitant price
in " trade."

It seemed likely that, if their demands were not com-
plied with, they would fire on the boats ; so the mate
who was in charge of them, and the G.A., were wise
enough to temporize. Pretending they must consult me,
and promising to return to the shore with either the
women or the goods, they were allowed to depart with-
out hostilities.

If these Worgus men had been content to ask no more
than the usual amount of trade, I should have sent it to
them. As it was, however, they got nothing, and the
women went to Queensland with me. But the reader
may rest assured that my boats did not go near Worgus
again on that voyage.

The day after this we landed some " returns " at
Verigo, on the south-western coast. This proved a

158 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

difficult job, and came very near being a disastrous one
to boot.

Tanna men's boxes were almost always exceedingly
heavy, on account of the quantity of bullets, and lead for
slugs, that they collected to take home with them. The
coast was rocky and broken ; a considerable swell roll-
ing in to make matters worse.

One boat had discharged her load, not without
difficulty, and had shoved off a little way whilst the
other backed in. As they were lugging the last chest
over the stern, a small line from the shore being attached
to it, the boat's keel grounded on a sunken boulder
between two seas. She immediately canted over ; the
top of the succeeding wave rolled right upon her, filling
her up to the gunwale, luckily without capsizing or
injuring her. The chest was saved, I believe, but every-
thing in it and in the boat was swamped.

A native who was standing in the water, close to the
boat, seized the opportunity and grabbed the mate's
Snider rifle, with which he incontinently bolted up the
rocks and made for the bush. The mate was after him
instantly, although he was barefooted, and his feet were
terribly cut by the sharp stones. The chase extended
over a quarter of a mile or so, till the Tanna man, close
pressed and covered by the mate's revolver, came to a
halt and delivered up his prize. Had he been aware
that the rifle was loaded, he might have turned on his
pursuer and made it rough for him. Happily, he did
not know it.

Next day I visited Fotuna I., landing a boy there,
who had been house servant to the manager of Magnolia
plantation, near Maryborough. He had been a great
favourite with his late employer, and, in consequence
thereof, had been nicknamed " Baby."

It was generally supposed that the "Baby" would
persuade half the inhabitants of the little island to
engage ; and that after a few hours' visit to his relatives

/ VISIT MR. PA TON. 159

he would accompany us back to Maryborough. But
though I kept the vessel dodging about under the lee of
the island, from daylight until late in the afternoon, we
saw nothing more of him. Moreover, other natives in-
formed us that " missionary no let man go away ! "

Tired of waiting, I hoisted in the boats, and squared
away for Tanna I., where I proposed to anchor for the
night. However, the wind fell light, and by sunset I
had got no further than Aniwa or Niua I. This was
the scene of the burglary I had been accused of commit-
ting on the missionary's house, in 1875, when I was here
with the Stanley.

I had often wished for an opportunity of paying the
author of this calumny a visit, so that I might demand
an explanation from him. So I now proposed to the
G.A. that we should go on shore, late as it was, and
interview the gentleman. To this he at once assented.

Leaving the ship hove to, about a quarter of a mile
distant from the rocky coast of the island, we pulled
ashore in the gloaming. There was some difficulty in
finding a convenient landing-place. Guided by the
voice of a native, who could see us though we could not
discern him, I steered into a nook among the rocks
which afforded the only fair landing-place on the island,
and which was directly opposite to the mission house.
Here we landed, and a little further back, under the
shadow of the trees, found the missionary, Mr. Paton,

waiting to receive us.

The customary greetings having been got over, the
reverend gentleman invited us to walk up to his house.
This I at first declined to do, and then entered into the
subject which had brought me there. I told him that I
wished to hear his explanation of the report — emanating
from himself— that I had broken into his house on a
certain occasion three years previous to this.

Of course he had his excuse ready. He also said
he had done and would do all that lay in his power to

160 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

contradict the report and dispel the false impression it
had created. His excuse was satisfactory enough. As
to his promise, I feel bound to say that I take quite a
different view. Since this interview, I many times made
careful inquiry ; and though at least a dozen men informed
me that this " gentleman " had accused me of robbing his

o o

house, not one ever said he had heard him contradict it.

Mr. Paton explained that the Aniwa boy I had re-
cruited at the time of the alleged burglary, had left some
clothes locked up in his kitchen, a building detached
from the dwelling-house. Immediately after the Stanley
sailed, certain natives, friends of my recruit, had broken
into the kitchen and abstracted the boy's clothes,
afterwards laying the blame on me. He said he had
been misled by the statements made to him by these
natives ; he furthermore tendered an apology, and re-
newed his invitation to us to enter his house and spend
an hour with him and his wife.

We did spend an hour — perhaps two — in his house ;
and very sorry I was, subsequently, that I ever went near
it. Out of the occasion there arose another scandal, one
that was just as false as the first, and which might have
proved much more injurious to me.

In the course of conversation, the incident at Black
Beach was mentioned. I described the tribal fight we
had heard going on, and how we recruited the five
fugitive women. The reverend gentleman then ex-
pressed his satisfaction that we had saved the women
from being enslaved or murdered by the conquerors of
their tribe.

I shall have to refer to this unpleasant topic later in
my narrative. It will be enough to record now that
sometime after our visit to him, this gentleman actually
reported to the Government — either the Imperial or the
Queensland Government — that I had kidnapped certain
women, and that in his house, in his own presence and
in that of his wife, I had " boasted of my exploits ! "

A LUNATIC RECRUITED. 161

Now, I think that if I had boasted of any kidnapping
in his presence that evening, he would scarcely have
accompanied us down to the boat as he did, with a boy
in front carrying a lantern, and have almost affectionately
shaken hands with us and bidden us a hearty "good- night
and good-bye."

I think I visited nearly every one of the islands of the
New Hebrides this voyage, not even omitting the Torres
Is., a small cluster north-west of the Banks' Is., though I
obtained no recruits there.

On the south-western coast of Api I., the recruiter
and the G.A. brought off a dirty, hairy, wild-looking
specimen of humanity. He was a native of Ambrym I.,
had been a labourer in Fiji, and on his return had been
persuaded by some Api men to land with them. Of
course their tribe reaped the benefit of his stock of
" trade," and then very likely ill-treated him. He had
run away from them into the bush, and now offered him-
self once more as a recruit. He seemed rather scared
at first, but we did not suppose he was deranged, as
it turned out that he was.

Soon after this man's engagement, he was missed one
morning, and was supposed to have gone overboard. By-
and-by, however, he was discovered in concealment under
the bunks, amongst the firewood. A day or two later I
had anchored among the Maskelyne Is. There, some
Mallicolo men came on board in the evening, making
their canoe fast alongside, and being allowed to sleep
on board at their own request. This was a frequent
incident ; intending recruits often liking to ascertain a
vessel's character in that way. In the night our
" cranky " recruit disappeared with the canoe, and so I
saw the last of him, though the canoe was found on one
of the adjacent islets.

At Batnapni, Pentecost I., the natives were friendly for
the most part. One party, however, headed by a chief
called Tabbiseisei (or Tarisisi), appeared to be rather

M

1 62 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

sulky. Judging by what afterwards happened here, this
chief was no doubt looking out for a chance to murder
some white man.

A short time before, the French schooner Aurora
had had a "difficulty" with the natives here. Her people
had burnt a small hut, which belonged to Tabbiseisei,
serving him as a temporary shelter when he came down
to the beach from his village, Manbon. No other mis-
chief was done besides the destruction of this hut — a
trumpery roof of leaf-thatch set on bare poles — yet
Tabbiseisei wanted the life of a white man to pay for it.
Eventually, he succeeded in taking one. Then H.M.S.
Beagle came, and her crew burnt his village. For that
he took another white man's life.

A native of another village warned us against the
chief, so my people kept on their guard, giving him no
favourable opportunity for attacking them. The G.A.
even had a long conversation with him on the beach.

Proceeding northward, I next visited Aoba and Aurora
Is., whence I went on to Banks' Is. At Sugar-loaf I.
(Mota) some " returns " were landed one morning.
While the ship was lying off shore there, drifting along
close in to the western coast, several youngsters — ap-
parently belonging to the Rev. Mr. Selwyn's flock-
paddled their little canoes under our stern. There they
laid awhile, spelling out the ship's name and port of
registry. Probably they had been sent off for that pur-
pose. The name Stormbird they made out easily, as
also Mary. The pronunciation of borough was too
much for them, though I dare say they would be able to
report the letters composing it accurately enough.

Arrived at Ureparapara I., I attempted to enter the
bay, round which the island extends in a horseshoe form.
Hardly were we within the " Heads," when the wind
dropped, and I saw the landlocked waters lying calm
and still, scarcely creased by occasional catspaws of
wind.

BLASTING UP THE ANCHOR. 163

The ship was rounded to immediately, the boats
lowered and got ahead to tow her out again. However,
the swell rolled in so heavily that we had nearly two
hours' towing before we could get the ship far enough
out to feel the trade-wind, and so beat to sea again.

This island is about three miles across at its widest
point, and rises 2,000 feet above sea level. The bay I
had intended to anchor in appears to have once been the
crater of an immense volcano, the eastern wall of which
has given way and admitted the sea.

Here I landed the last returns I had on board ; thence
going on and visiting the Torres Is., but without any
success.

At Motolava, or Valua I., I lay for one night recruit-
ing. The day following, the wind dropped, the glass
falling steadily ; so I loosened the sails and hove up the
anchor, letting the ship swing stern on to the kedge,
which I had also down, hauling -in the warp as she
drifted off the land. I expected the kedge to trip easily,
but, to my dismay, it held firmly and refused to come
home. Several times the warp was slackened and then
hauled upon, yet still the kedge held firmly. I began to
think I was going to lose it, along with thirty fathoms of
warp ; for, when I sounded, I got bottom at thirty-three
fathoms.

In this dilemma I got a wrinkle from the G.A. We
rove an iron hoop — taken off a beef cask — along the
warp from its inboard end, until it came to the taffrail.
Then we attached to the hoop a package containing four
charges of dynamite, with a detonator and fuse in the
middle of it.

The warp holding taut perpendicularly, we lit the fuse,
and let the hoop and package slip down over it right on
top of the kedge. Less than a minute after the dynamite
exploded. We felt it as though a sledge-hammer had
struck the vessel's bottom. A mound-like wave of dis-
coloured water rose up at about two fathoms distance

1 64 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

from the stern, and numerous dead fish, with other
curious objects, presently floated on the surface.

The warp was slackened a little, and then hauled on.
Then, much to my relief, up came the kedge, neither it
nor the warp proving to be any the worse for the un-
usual treatment accorded them.

Since then, I have several times tried this plan of
freeing an anchor which has hooked fast in the coral, and
with a like result.

Not everybody has had the same luck as mine,
though. There was a skipper, I remember, who tried it,
and got results he did not desire. While lying at Man
I., his anchor got jammed in the coral. He slackened
away the cable until his vessel was well clear of the spot.
Then he went in his boat and dropped down a tremen-
dous charge of dynamite, in five fathoms of water. His
boys got confused at the critical moment, some pulling
away, others backing their oars. The charge exploded
before they had made a fathom, smashing the stern of
the boat, and swamping it. He got his anchor, however.

Sailing southward from Ureparapara, I worked the
western coast of Espiritu Santo I. There I anchored
first in Barrai Inlet ; a nook so small that I had to moor
with both anchors. At this place the natives kept us
" on a string " for three days, promising recruits and
then disappearing, which did not tend to the improve-
ment of our tempers. Thence we worked leisurely along
south with fair success, anchoring off Pali, opposite the
village, at Tasselmana, and at Pai.

I then paid another visit to Pentecost I., anchoring as
before in Batnapni Bay. The broad, sandy beach, on
which a crowd of natives had loitered during my last
visit, was now deserted. Only two or three men ap-
peared on the other side of the watering-place, coming
from Verramatmat. One of them came off to the ship
with the G.A.

This man, whose name was Tabbisangwul, had a sad

TABBISANGWULS TALE. 165

story to relate. He told us that the Queensland labour
schooner, May Queen, had anchored here since our last
visit. Tabbiseisei, the chief of Manbon village, came
down to the beach with a number of his men, still bent
on having a white man's blood, to avenge the burning of
his hut by the crew of the Aurora.

Brown, the mate of the May Queen, had gone to the
beach in one of the boats, with a crew of four Kanakas.
He was standing in the stern of the boat, talking to the
Manbon men, when the chief got his opportunity. Com-
ing stealthily behind Brown, he struck him on the back
of the neck with his tomahawk, killing him instantly.
Two of the boat's crew were simultaneously slain by
Tabbiseisei's men, and then the whole party made for
the bush and got off scot-free.

Tabbisangwul had witnessed the whole affair from a
little distance. He was a returned labourer, and spoke
very fair English. I entered his story in my official log,
making two copies of it. One of these I left with him, to
hand to the commander of the first British ship of war
that should call at the island. The second copy I took
to Havannah Harbour on my return homeward, leaving
it there with similar instructions.

Some time after this, H.M.S. Beagle, Commander De
Houghton, arrived in Batnapni Bay. The Sibyl — Captain
Satini, Mr. Lynde G.A. — was then lying at anchor there.
A party of blue-jackets was landed, and, reinforced by
the crew of the labour vessel, they made a raid upon
Tabbiseisei's village in the interior. They destroyed
the village, but, I think, did little harm to the inhabitants
beyond that.

The boatswain of the Sibyl was the only member of
the force who was hurt. While they were on the march,
a native suddenly sprang out from behind some bushes
and struck him on the head with a tomahawk, inflicting a
severe wound. This plucky fellow got away, though lie
left a thick trail of blood behind him.

166 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I am aware that Commander De Houghton was acting
under instructions, and that he could do neither more nor
less than his orders permitted. Still, I maintain that it
would have been much better if he had never come near
the island under the circumstances.

The very trivial punishment inflicted only served to
exasperate Tabbiseisei, instead of deterring him from
further outrages. Before three months had passed after
the destruction of his village, he took his revenge for
that by killing another white man — the mate of a Fijian
vessel, which had visited Batnapni Bay.

I could cite a dozen instances in which the insufficient
punishment meted out by our ships of war, has but led to
reprisals, instead of cowing the savages into good be-
haviour. In nine cases out of ten, owing to the way the
home authorities have hampered their action, the com-
manders of British warships have done more harm than
good for the interests they have been supposed to protect.

Commanders of French ships of war enjoy much more
freedom of action in these waters. This is the reason
why so many British-born traders, in the New Hebrides
and elsewhere, have transferred their allegiance from
Great Britain to France.

Calling next at Api I., I there boarded the Onward,
of Sydney, a whaling barque, which was soon after
wrecked off New Caledonia. Thence I proceeded to
Havannah Harbour, Sandwich I., where I took in wood
and water. There I heard that the natives of South-
West Bay, Mallicolo I., had fired on the boats of the
Janet Stewart, of Maryborough, and the Daphne, of
Fiji. One white man had been killed, and some Kana-
kas wounded.

The evening before I left Havannah Harbour, a canoe
came alongside bringing off a dozen men, natives of
islands further north. They had run away from their
employer — Ford, of Tukatuka — and now wished to go
to Queensland with me.

FORD'S RUNAWAYS. 167

Though I had a good shipload of recruits already, my
full complement was not yet made up. Still, it would
not do for me to sail away with another man's labourers,
as these boys proposed. On the other hand, if I refused
to engage them, they would most likely make off into the
bush, and remain there until some more compliant re-
cruiter should happen along. So, in the meanwhile, I
sent them down below with a pipe and plug of tobacco
apiece.

Next day I anchored off Tukatuka, and went on shore
to have a talk with Ford. I got him to promise that he
would not punish the boys for their escapade, and then,
returning on board, I sent them on shore to him.

I returned to Queensland by the north of New
Caledonia. The wind being due east, I entered Balade
Pass early in the day, getting through the reefs before
dark, and coming out by lande Pass. The wind then
went round to north a little, the glass falling, and I was
carried into the vicinity of Cato Reef and Islet, about
1 60 miles from Breaksea Spit.

It was a dull, cloudy morning, when the breeze hauled
into the north, soon becoming squally, so that I had to
take in the light sails. As the men were doing this, a
heavy squall came up from windward, travelling rapidly
down on the ship. Then a vivid flash of lightning
seemed to split the dense rain-clouds right across.

" Hard up!" I shouted to the man at the wheel, but,
unluckily, without waiting to see that he executed the
order.

The topgallant-sail was clewed up smartly, and then,
just as the wind caught the ship down came the topsail,
whilst I let go the main throat halyards myself.

But the helm was only half up ! Whether the man
at the wheel had been frightened by the appearance of
the lightning, or what, I cannot say. The tremendous
force of the wind, as it struck the ship, caused her to
broach to, though I seized the wheel myself, letting the

1 68 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

main sheet rip out to the clinch. Over went the ship,
until her lee side, fore and aft, was buried in the water,
the boat and davits in the waist being submerged, and
the seas pouring over the lee-combings of the main hatch
into the hold below. For a moment, I thought the
Stormbird must founder under us.

Happily, the squall passed off as quickly as it came,
and the ship righted herself. We had just begun cutting
at the weather rigging, hoping the foremast would go
over the side and relieve her.

We encountered other squalls during that day ; then
the wind gradually hauled round to west-south-west, fresh-
ening into a steady fine-weather gale, which, in three
days, carried the Stormbird about a hundred miles ; for
she was like a bladder on the water, being very lightly
ballasted. The first land I made was the Australian
coast, about twenty miles south of Wide Bay.

I crossed the bar and anchored off the pilot station at
the southern end of Fraser I. Strait, on September 24.
There I received news that the owner of the Stormbird
had become insolvent. However, as the vessel was safe
under our feet, with a shipload of recruits on board, this
did not affect me much. The late owner still continued
to act as agent for the vessel.

Owing to the northerly wind, which still continued
• blowing stiffly, a week elapsed after my arrival before I
could get the vessel up to town, During this week one
of the Australian Steam Navigation Co.'s steamers, the
Tinonee, made an attempt to tow us up the river along-
side of her, but had to abandon it.

On the third day after our arrival at Maryborough, I
was legally bound to pay my crew off. I had consider-
able difficulty in procuring the necessary sum for this
purpose. In fact, I had to go to the lawyers. Seeing, I
suppose, that I "knew the ropes," the , Bank of New
South Wales, which held the mortgages upon the ship,
advanced the money required, paid my lawyer, and then

A MISSIONARY ON THE WARPATH. 169

took possession of her, retaining my services as master
and agent. This was a very nice billet for me, for a
month, at the end of which time the Stormbird was sold.
The late owner was re-appointed agent for her, while I
was again installed as master.

About this time news had arrived in Queensland of
some stirring scenes on the island of New Britain, now
called Neu Pommern. I took especial interest in this
because one John Nash and I had been the first two
white men who had ventured to form trading stations on
that island, namely, in 1873. We were both then em-
ployed by the South Sea trading firm of J. C. Godeffroy
& Sons, of Hamburg.

o

A missionary, the Rev. George Brown, had since
located himself on Duke of York I., now called Neu
Lauenburg, the largest of a group situated in St.
George's Channel, between New Britain and New
Ireland. Thence he had sent Polynesian teachers and
their wives into the two great islands.

Some of these had been murdered by the natives of
New Britain, the news reaching Mr. Brown at Duke of
York I. about April 8. To prevent further murders, he
had immediately organized an expedition, by which some
fifty of the natives had been killed, and several villages
and plantations destroyed.

No doubt, as Commander De Houghton remarked to
me, Brown's promptitude had punished the natives and
checked further outrages. I feel certain, however, that
if such reprisals had been undertaken by a layman, a
howl of indignation would have arisen from Exeter Hall.
Likely enough, too, the leader of the expedition would
have been hanged when he got home. At any rate, he
would have been sharply informed that, instead ol taking
the law into his own hands, he should have withdrawn
his remaining followers out of danger, and have waited
for the arrival of a man-of-war. When one came, her
commander would make believe to punish the murderers

170 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

by promiscuous firing away of powder and shell, cutting
down cocoanut trees, and killing pigs. This, too, after
having first warned the murderers to get clear away
out of danger !

Mr. Brown evidently failed to appreciate the quality
of the public feeling which extricated him from this
scrape. When speaking in his own defence, at a public
meeting, held in Albert Street Church, Brisbane, in aid
of the Australian Wesleyan Foreign Mission, May 19,
1879, he said :—

" I claim to be a man first, and then to be a missionary
— above all an Englishman ! " He ought rather to have
said : —

" I claim to be a missionary first, a man next, and last
of all an Englishman!" It would have fitted the facts
more accurately, perhaps.

CHAPTER XL

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE STORMB1RD, 1878-9.

/ sail for the Neiv Hebrides — FresJi instructions — News at
Havannah Harbour — Renton and Muir murdered — A can-
nibal feast — Christmas at Tongoa I. — Bad weather — The
hurricane season — Port Sandivich — Dodging the weather —
Tannoa islet. — A visit in the niglit — " Me go Mallybulla " —
Betarri — Matrimonial customs — Inquiries — A warning —
The attack — A bath interrupted — Dangerous quarters —
Shokki declines an amnesty — / capture the island fleet — A
battle in the dark — A lucky mistake — Getting to sea — How a
story grows — Tabbisangwul and Tabbiseisei — Sam's mishap
— Ship surgery — Visit of a missionary — Altercation and
argument — My Bible — The missionary retreats — The Astro-
labe Reef- — Arrive at Maryborough — Allotment of recruits —
Official blundering — A few hard words — Slavery ! — I lose my
command — Murders at Brooker I. — Mr. McFarlane's report
— My opinion of the savage nature.

I LEFT Maryborough about November 18, and, having
taken in wood and water at the White Cliffs, as usual,
I ran through Fraser I. Strait with a northerly wind,
across Wide Bay bar, bound for the New Hebrides.

I had a large number of "returns" on board; also a
passenger in the cabin. This was a young gentleman
who was taking the trip with us for the sake of his health.
The G.A. who had accompanied me on my last voyage
had been reappointed. A fresh proviso had been added
to his instructions this time, however. He was ordered
to act in conjunction with the master, and to assign the
recruits to the various employers they were to serve,
before the ship should have arrived in port on her
return.

Moderate weather prevailed until I had rounded the

i?2 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

reefs off the southern end of New Caledonia. A stiff
breeze then came up from south-west, bringing with it
heavy squalls of wind and rain. The sky, when visible
between the squalls, showed a dull leaden tint, streaked
and spotted with small white clouds. Its general appear-
ance was far from pleasant, a low barometer also seeming
to indicate the proximity of a cyclone. As I ran north-
eastward, however, the weather gradually improved.

I had nothing to delay me at the southern islands of
the New Hebrides, so I pressed on at once to Sandwich
I. There I anchored off Semma, in Havannah Harbour,
where I received rather startling news.

On November 9, the natives of Aoba, or Lepers' I.,
had captured a recruiting boat belonging to the Mystery
labour schooner. They had killed her crew — four
native boatmen, and two white men, Thomas Muir, mate,
and John Renton, G.A. The last was the man Captain
Murray had rescued from Malayta I., as I have previously
mentioned.

The motive for these murders was not revenge, but
simply cannibalism. A great feast had been arranged to
take place, to which all the surrounding tribes were in-
vited. The chief of the tribe that gave it desired to
show hospitality on a grand scale, and accordingly pro-
vided the rare dainty of white man's flesh, to do honour
to his guests on the occasion. So I was told, at any rate,
by a man who said he had been present at the feast.

The captured boat was hauled up far above high-
water mark, and lay there some time, exposed to view
from the. sea. It was eventually recovered by Captain
Kilgour, during the next voyage of the Mystery.

The area of my recruiting work during this voyage
was almost entirely limited to Sandwich I. and Espiritu
Santo I., with the smaller islands near them. The hur-
ricane season had begun, and it was therefore advisable
to keep such a light-ballasted craft as mine was within
safe anchorage.

DODGING THE WEATHER. 173

We ate our Christmas pudding at Tongoa I. This
dainty we had brought from Maryborough, it being the
gift of a kind lady friend of mine. Then, working a
northerly course from one anchorage to another, we were
off the western coast of Ambrym I. by New Year's
Day.

The weather was now generally fine, though very hot,
with light northerly winds, and, occasionally, a dead calm
of short duration. While these lasted, circular masses of
cloud-bank were sometimes seen moving slowly eastward.
Such as passed over the ship precipitated a tremendous
downpour of rain, with sometimes a flash or two of
lightning, and a crackle of thunder. Five minutes after
the cloud had passed over, the ship would be out in the
blazing sun again, her canvas soaked with rain, and her
decks steaming. In weather like this, the smell from
the hold was always very powerful, and anything but
pleasant ; though it was not so pungent, perhaps, as it
would have been if we had had negroes on board instead
of Kanakas.

On January i, as it looked like a hurricane, and the
glass was down to 29*7 and falling, I struck the royals, top-
gallant-yards and mast, and rove a heel rope to the main-
top-mast. The indications being still more threatening
next day, I brought the ship to an anchor in Port Sand-
wich, Mallicolo I. I was just in time, for the cloud-bank
rose rapidly. By next morning, early, a hard gale was
blowing from the north-west, coming over the land in
heavy squalls, accompanied by dense blinding rain.

Three days I lay here. Then, as the wind fell light
again, though still blowing from the west, I towed and
sailed out of the harbour. Before morning it came on
to blow again, and I was glad to get back into Port
Sandwich and safety once more. Next clay, I left the
harbour a second time, getting as far as Merrabwei,
where I anchored for one nio;ht. Much the same game

o

went on next day, and the next after that. In fact, I

174 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

spent a whole week dodging the weather, before I could
get well away. At length the sky'cleared, and a light
southerly breeze enabled us to get to work, recruiting
along the coast northward.

One Saturday evening I trailed into the bay on the
eastern extremity of Tannoa islet, off Espiritu Santo I.,
anchoring there for the night. One or two canoes had
met the ship as she entered the bay, and, returning to
the islet, spread the news of our arrival. About nine
o'clock, I was walking my half-poop, enjoying a pipe,
when I heard a splash in the water below, followed by a
sound like something rubbing against the side. Look-
ing over, I was just able to make out a small canoe, such
as we generally called a one-horse gig, alongside ; while
a figure was standing on the lowest step of the side
ladder, hanging on by the man-ropes, and in the act of
shoving the canoe away, which quickly vanished into
the night.

The figure then climbed on deck, coming into the light
shining from the cabin sky-light and the deckhouse
amidships. It proved to be that of a rather small young
woman, plump and good-looking. A glance at her open
countenance was sufficient to assure me that this was cer-
tainly not her first experience of civilization.

She had brought off all her " plunder " with her,
apparently. She had donned two if not three dresses,
and wore about a couple of pounds of beads strung as
necklaces and bracelets. She carried in her arms a bundle
nearly as big as herself, consisting of shawls and other
clothes.

" Me want to go Mallybulla," said this young lady,
not a whit abashed at the crowd that quickly gathered
round her.

" You gimme pipe ; me want to smoke," was her next
demand, which was quickly complied with by one of my
crew.

This girl proved to be a native of Mario, or St.

MATRIMONIAL CUSTOMS. 175

Bartholomew I. She had been to Fiji, in service; re-
turning whence she had been landed on Tannoa I. with
some " boys " who belonged to it ; and now she wanted
to go to Queensland. Her name was Mary Betarri,
which was put on the recruit list accordingly. Then,
having received her blanket, pipe, and tobacco, she was
consigned to the women's quarters for the night.

It was afterwards said that the trouble we presently
experienced here arose out of our having abducted a
married woman. There is no doubt Betarri had been
living with a man since she came to the islet, though

MARY BETARRI.

not before. No matrimonial ceremony is observed, how-
ever, on these islands. When a man takes a wife unto
himself, he makes some presenter payment to her father,
or nearest male relative, and that is all. If no such pay-
ment has been made, the woman is free to leave her
" husband " whenever she may think fit to do so — if his
club should not be at hand !

The next day being Sunday, we lay quiet, doing no
work besides landing three men. Several canoes came off
from the shore, and about a dozen natives visited the ship.
Some of them came on deck and prowled about, one or
two asking if Betarri was on board — for she kept close

i?6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

down below. The inquirers were told she was in
the ship, and they went away without making any
further remarks.

Early next morning, I sent the boats ashore to fill the
casks with water at a small stream on the main island, and
by breakfast-time our tanks had all been replenished.
As they were coming off for the last time, I noticed
Tannoa canoes going over to the main from the islet.

Now, it is a daily custom among these people to visit
their plantations on the mainland, for the purpose of
getting thence such food as they require. The women
generally perform this task, guarded by a few of the
men. The canoes I saw this time held no women,
being full of men only. I therefore warned the mate
and the G.A. to be careful, and to keep well on their
guard when they landed to cut firewood.

After breakfast the boats went ashore again. Not-
withstanding my warning, the G.A. thought it would be
a good opportunity to treat himself to a fresh- water bath.
About half an hour after they were gone, a couple of
shots rang out near the boats. Looking in their direction,
I saw our boatmen, guns in hand, searching the edge of
the forest for the concealed enemy ; and I could also
see the G.A., lightly attired in a pair of blucher boots,
and nothing else, with his Snider rifle in readiness, stand-
ing near the water-hole, out of which he had just emerged.
Two or three more shots presently came from the point,
aimed at the ship ; the bullets falling near us, or passing
over our heads. I need hardly say no more firewood
was cut, the boats returning to the ship without delay.

Just before the firing began, the G.A. had taken a
plunge into the water-hole — a pool banked up by the sea
across the mouth of the little stream. One bullet struck
the water close in front of him, as he rose up from a dip ;
another splintered a log the mate was chopping, right
under his foot.

Fighting was not our business, so I thought the best

UNDER FIRE. 177

thing to be done was to clear out of that, and go to a
friendlier spot. The windlass was manned accordingly,
and the anchor got up, while the sails were set. With
the light air we had, the quickest way of getting out to
sea was to run through the channel between the main
island and Tannoa. This I attempted, therefore. Un-
luckily the wind dropped, and I was obliged to anchor
again, at not much more than a hundred yards distance
from the western end of the islet.

Most of the fighting men of Tannoa seem to have
been on the mainland. They gave us a few shots
from the point, but the range was too great for their

A BATH INTERRUPTED.

bullets to reach us. They did not dare to show them-
selves, our Snider bullets going unpleasantly close to
them. Had they been on the islet, though, they might
have given us a nice peppering, taking cover under
the trees and rocks during the daytime. One canoe
attempted to cross from the main island to the islet, but a
bullet from the ship sent it back in a hurry.

The weather remained calm and dull all day, so I had
to lie quietly at anchor, trusting a land breeze would
spring up after nightfall and help us out to sea. Towards
evening the G.A. and I took the two boats in towards

o

the point, as the enemy had ceased firing. We did not

N

1 78 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

venture very close, however, not knowing- whether our
foes might not be lurking in ambush still.

Opening communications, we did our best to bring
Shokki, the chief, to a parley, but without success.
Neither he nor his men would venture near us. They
knew they could get back to Tannoa as soon as night
fell ; and then, when morning came, they would have us
cheap — if I was fool enough to stay there.

Since Shokki seemed indisposed to come to terms, we
rowed to Tannoa, where twenty or thirty canoes of vari-
ous sizes lay drawn up on the beach. A nice little fleet
indeed, to beat off, if the enemy should try to board us !
One of these canoes — a very large one — I damaged, so
that it could not be made use of without considerable re-
pairing. Most of the remainder I towed off to the ship,
thus lessening the possible naval force we might have to
deal with. I had no immediate intention of destroying
the canoes, however.

Night fell without any further disturbance, while we
took care not to expose ourselves to chance shots. About
midnight a light air came off the land, but as it would
have been hardly enough to help us out, I did not then
weigh anchor. Besides, I remembered that men gene-
rally sleep soundest just before daylight. I waited until
four o'clock, therefore, and then called all hands on deck,
without noise, to man the windlass.

When this was done, there was noise enough to waken
up the entire islet, of course. The clanking of thepauls,
and the rattle of the chain cable, rang out clear through
the morning air. For some ten or fifteen minutes my
fellows worked with a will, undisturbed. Then, suddenly,
" bang ! " " bang ! " " bang ! " came from the islet. Not a
bullet touched the ship, apparently, though we could hear
the "ping" as they flew overhead. The G. A. and I
went aft with our Sniders, and lying down on the half-
poop, watched for the next shots through the quarter-
rails.

A BATTLE IN THE DARK. 179

A few minutes passed quietly. Then we saw the flash
and heard the report of guns again, the bullets whistling
high above our heads. This time we replied to them,
though the only mark we had to aim at in the darkness
was the flash of the enemy's guns.

This amusement was kept up on both sides for heaven
only knows how long. Men do not take much account
of time under such circumstances. The enemy had a
better mark to shoot at than we had, but all their shots
flew high, some striking the mast-heads. The sound
indicated that they were using rifles ; while the long inter-
vals elapsing between the shots proved there could
hardly be more than three of them at work. We sur-
mised, therefore, and correctly as it turned out, that the
weapons they were using were the muzzle-loading
Enfields our three "returns" had taken on shore with
them on Sunday.

Subsequently, we heard that the firing party were under
the impression that the " long sights " on the Enfields
were designed to* make the rifles shoot harder. Hence

o

they elevated the sights, and their bullets flew too high
in consequence. It was a lucky mistake for us !

The sails had remained loose all night, so there was no
necessity to expose any of the hands by sending them
aloft. When the chain had been hove short, the boats
were sent ahead with tow-lines, and as soon as the anchor
was up, they fetched the ship round with the assistance
of the jibs. Then the square canvas was set, and, amid
a din of yelling and firing on both sides, we slowly crept
away from the anchorage, and were soon out of range.
Not a moment too soon, either, for the last bullet dropped
near our stern just as daylight dawned !

I still had the canoes alongside. But, since the
owners of them had prevented us from collecting fire-
wood, I chopped our captures up to serve as such ; and
very poor material for the purpose did they yield.
Shokki and his men must have fancied they had us cheap,

i8o THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

both ashore and afloat, since they resorted to open
hostilities. Had the chief simply spoken to me on the
subject, he would have received the usual " pay " for
Betarri, and would have saved his canoes into the bargain.

Now for an illustration of how a story will grow as it
flies.

About three weeks later I anchored off St. Bartholo-
mew I. There the natives informed us that a schooner's
crew had recently attacked Tannoa I. That, having
landed, they had destroyed all the canoes, burnt the
village, killed a score of men, and had driven the re-
mainder of the inhabitants away from the islet.

Luckily for us there was no missionary in the neigh-
bourhood of Tannoa, to exaggerate the story, and make
another blood-curdling atrocity out of it.

At Batnapni, Pentecost I., very few natives appeared.
Those who did venture near the boats, came from the
village of Verramatmat, on the bluff. They told us that
Tabbisangwul — the man to whom I had given a statement
of Brown's murder for the next "man-of-war" that
touched there — had been obliged to leave home and go to
Queensland as a "recruit." Tabbiseisei, the murderer,
had sworn vengeance against him for giving information
to the captain of the Beagle, and acting as interpreter.

A sad mishap overtook one of my boatmen on the
south coast of Mallicolo I. While he and others were
cleaning their guns, one of them, being loaded, went off
accidentally. The ball seriously wounded poor Sam — a
native of Errakova, Sandwich I. — severing the great
tendon of his heel ; that which is called the tendo Achilles.
No artery seemed to be damaged, as far as I could tell,
but the wound had an ugly look. A large flap of skin
and flesh hung down from the heel. This was replaced,
and the limb was bound up by the G.A., who acted as
surgeon. He relied principally on cold water and carbolic
acid to keep the wound sweet while it healed ; but of
course the severed tendon would never unite again.

DISCUSS I OiV WITH A MISSIONARY. 181

A swing cot was slung " between decks " near the
fore hatch, and there our patient did fairly well. I wished
to take him on to Maryborough for proper surgical treat-
ment ; but, as he begged to be landed at Vila, before my
final departure for Queensland, I left him there.

Having watered at Semma, in Havannah Harbour, I
got under way one fine morning, with a very light air
from south-east. While the ship was moving slowly
down the harbour, I saw a boat from the mission settle-
ment coming off to meet her. As this approached us, I
discerned the missionary who resided in Muna, or Mon-
tague I., sitting in the stern. This was the gentleman
who had opposed my recruiting the boy Naumeta, when
I commanded the Stanley, as I have related in a previous
chapter. It was just as well for him, perhaps, that I was
not then aware he had communicated with the Queens-
land Government on the subject.

His present object in visiting the vessel was to see
Sam, the wounded boatman, and he went down below
forward for that purpose. Meanwhile I walked the deck
aft, as I had no desire for his society. He came on deck
again in a few minutes, and walked aft, where he was
decidedly not wanted.

" Now, Captain," he commenced, " ye've been a lang
time in this trade, can ye conscientiously say ye consider
it consistent wi' the Christian releegion ? "

I knew what he would be at, before he even opened
his mouth. There were only two subjects on which
he could, or would, converse — Christianity and the
" Labour Trade." As my views on both of these topics
did not coincide with his, I " smelt fire."

" Not being a Christian, Mr. , I cannot say," was

my reply.

" No ! ye're no' a Christian, but ye' re nominally a
Christian, are ye no' ? "

I told him what my opinion was about religious matters
in general. Then, at it we went, hammer and tongs. I

J 82 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

flatter myself he found me a tougher nut to crack than
the ignorant, superstitious savages he lived among.
Not that he had effected much satisfactory result even
amongst them, according to his own showing. For, on a
former occasion, he told me that he had lived two years
in Muna I., and had not converted a single soul.

At last, just as the vessel arrived close off the mission
station, he made an assertion with regard to the two
genealogies in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, that I
was uncertain whether to take with contempt or with
anger. For it appeared to me that he was either telling
a lie, supposing me not to have read the Bible, or that he
must be grossly ignorant of the subject himself.

Now, I had read the Bible. Some years before, I had
been a trader in one of the Caroline Is. There I lived
for six months without seeino- a white man's face or a

o

ship's sail. Only one man on the island could speak a
little broken English, and I was ignorant of the native
language. Falling short of reading matter, I set to work
on the Bible, and read it through from Genesis to Reve-
lation. A considerable part of it I perused carefully
three times. When I began, I was an orthodox Christian ;
when I left off, a Deist.

" Wait till I get my Bible," said I, diving down into
the cabin. But the book required a little searching for ;
and, when I got on deck again with it in my hand, as red
hot for argument as any Cromwellian Independent, my
gentleman had gone, his boat being already half-way to
the shore.

Having called at Vila and landed my wounded boat-
man, Sam, I stood to the south-west, intending to round
the northern promontory of New Caledonia. But this
time I was not favoured with the trade-wind. Light and
variable breezes from north-east prevailed, varied with
occasional calms or thunderstorms. As we slowly ap-
proached the Astrolabe Reefs, a good look-out was kept
from the mast-head. In fact, I spent two hours there

ALLOTMENT OF RECRUITS. 183

myself about midnight. At last I saw the breakers on
the weather bow. By daybreak we were some ten miles
off Tuo.

It took me nearly a week to get clear of this island,
owing to frequent calms and light winds. The nights
we passed lying at anchor inside the barrier reefs. One
day was spent at anchor off Mr. Morgan's station on
Paaba I., at the extreme north of the reef. There I got
a supply of rather muddy fresh water, from a water-hole
near the station. Then, issuing by Yande Pass, I sailed
once more for Queensland. On March 23, I anchored in
Hewey Bay, off Woody I., reaching Maryborough two
days later.

In compliance with the instructions given to the G.A.
before we sailed, respecting the allotment of recruits to
employers, we had divided the boys into batches pro-
portioned to the numbers specified on the several licences.
I had 105 men and 6 women on board, not quite my full
complement, which was 125. Consequently, each of the
employers would get one or two boys less than he was
entitled to.

There was a good deal of swapping and changing from
one employer's name to another among the recruits.
For the old hands were well acquainted with the
characters of the different Maryborough planters. At
length all were satisfied with the arrangement made for
them by the G.A. and myself. Of course, they naturally
expected to be assigned to the several employers accord-
ing to our list.

The day after our arrival at Maryborough, the immi-
gration agent of the port came on board with the owner's
agent, and made out a fresh allotment of the recruits to

o

the licensed employers. By their plan some of the boys
were consigned to plantations they decidedly objected to
serve upon.

I was on deck, and the first information I had of this
was brought me by a boy who came up crying, and com-

184 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

plained to me that he had been assigned to an employer
whom he objected to serve. Then another and another
followed, each of them grieving or wrathful at a like
indignity.

Such an arbitrary proceeding as this could only lead to
trouble, of course, and that not merely to the employers in
Queensland. After these men returned home to their
islands, they would hardly fail of having their revenge for
the deceit, as they would deem it, that the Government
was responsi-ble for.

One " boy," a native of A pi I., actually refused to go
to the employer he was now assigned to — Mr. Cran, of
Mengarie — under whom he had formerly served. We
had allotted him to Mr. McPherson. Ultimately, a com-
promise was effected in his case, and he was employed on
Magnolia plantation, to which he made no objection.

The G.A. and I interfered when we saw how the boys
were being treated. We were told, in response, to mind
our own business, as the Kanakas had now been taken out
of our hands. All we could then do was to express our
opinion regarding this high-handed proceeding, which
we did without fear or favour. I began : —

" Well, sir, I have seen some rough things, and have
heard a good deal about slavery in the South Seas ; but
the nearest attempt at slavery I have ever witnessed
has been enacted on board here to-day. You are the
biggest slaver in Queensland ! "

To which the G.A. added hotly, —

" I quite agree with you, Captain Wawn."

" You, sir, have nothing to do with it," said the immi-
gration agent.

" I beg your pardon," retorted the G.A. " These men,
while on board, are in my care, although, when on shore,
they will be in yours."

As might be expected, I had a powerful enemy hence-
forth among the Government officers connected with the
labour trade. Twenty-four hours after this, I was in-

MURDERS AT BROOKER I. 185

formed that my services as master of the Stormbird
were no longer required.*

During the short subsequent period when recruiting
vessels visited the neighbourhood of New Guinea, native
attacks on white men occurred. It was often said, then,
that these had resulted from actions ascribed to the crews
of such vessels. The public was carefully kept in entire
ignorance of the fact that the grossest of such incidents
transpired long before any labour vessel tried to recruit
along those shores !

During 1878, Captain Redlich was murdered by the
natives of Brooker I., in the Louisiade Archipelago. Mr.
Ingham went in his steamer, the Voura, to investigate
the affair, and to try and recover some of Redlich's
property. The natives, to dispel any suspicion, received
Ingham in a friendly manner, giving up to him some of
Redlich's arms and other property ; thus managing to
throw him off his guard. About November 23, the
second day after they had arrived at Brooker I., Ingham,
with seven others, was killed by the natives. Billy, a
native of Torres Strait, was the ringleader in this affair.

According to a report from the Rev. Mr. McFarlane,
a missionary, which was published in " The Brisbane
Courier" of December 23, 1879, Ingham and his men
constituted the sixth party of shipwrecked sailors or
beche-de-mer fishers who had been massacred in these
islands. The last outrage, however, might have been
averted, had not the leader of the victims allowed
himself to be deluded by the apparent friendliness of the
natives, and so failed to guard against treachery. An
acquaintance of his, in a letter published in a later issue
of the same paper, said : —

" His one great failing was an unvarying trust that
savages would not harm one unless in retaliation for
injuries or insults received."

* The registers of the Polynesian Immigration Office have been found
to be incomplete as regards the details relating to this voyage ! !

1 86 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

It was belief in this theory, so often preached by men
who have had no practical experience of savage character
—especially of the Papuan — that led to the assassination
of Mr. Obbard G.A., in 1874. The murders of Captain
Ferguson and of Commodore Goodenough, as well as
of scores of less noted white men, were attributable to
the same cause.

My own opinion is that these Papuan savages will slay
any stranger, white or coloured, if they think they can do
so safely, and with profit to themselves.

Later this year, 1879, two other men, Irons and Willis,
were murdered at Cloudy Bay, New Guinea.

CHAPTER XII

VOYAGES OF THE LUCY AND ADELAIDE, 1 8/9.

Arrival of the Mystery — Captain Kilgour at Lepers' I. — Recover-
ing a stolen boat — Affray with tJie natives — Captain Kilgour
brought to trial — My work at Mallicolo I. — My boats menaced
— The Mary Anderson — German recruiting work — Facts in
my experience — The "weather side" of Pentecost I. — The
Aoba — A trial of seamanship — A gale — Heavy seas off
Breaksea Spit — Arrival at Bnndaberg — Second voyage — My
illness — / resign command — Captain Satini wrecked — The
Chevert.

THE schconer Mystery arrived at Mackay from the New
Hebrides in May. Her master, Captain Kilgour, had
visited Lannawut, Aoba I., the scene of the murder of
Renton and Muir. The boat captured by the natives
on that occasion was plainly visible from the sea, lying
hauled up above high-water mark at the edge of the
forest.

As Captain Kilgour approached the beach in his own
boat, a crowd of natives collected. Being interrogated,
they denied that the boat on the beach was the stolen
one, pretending it had been given to the chief by Mr.
Bice, a missionary who lived on the other side of the
island. Captain Kilgour then returned to the Mystery
and fetched Buckley, a seaman who had been in the ship
during her last voyage. This man at once identified
the boat.

Next, some of the natives hauled the boat down to the
water's edge, but refused to shove her off, telling Cap-
tain Kilgour to come in and take- her, if he dared.

1 88 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Nothing daunted, he mustered all hands he could bring
from the ship in his two boats, and pulled in.

Before his boat had touched the shore, however, the
natives opened on him with muskets and arrows. He
told me that he had two arrows sticking in his legs when
he landed. The boat was then shoved off and brought
away, without further injuries being received. Apparently
no natives were slain, though a few of their huts were
set on fire, and three or four pigs were slaughtered by
the boatmen.

Now this boat was the property of Mr. Hewitt, the
owner of the Mystery, who had given strict orders to
Captain Kilgour to recover it. The latter had endea-
voured to get it back by peaceable means, after the
natives had told him to come on shore and take it. It
was the natives who began the affray, Kilgour's party
fighting only in self-defence. The boat had been lying
there for months, and no ship of war had offered to re-
cover it. I am sure no fair-thinking Englishman would
blame Captain Kilgour for his plucky deed.

However, many of those good people who had com-
mended the Rev. George Brown for his slaughtering
raid into New Britain, now blamed Captain Kilgour for
simply recovering his owner's property, merely fighting
in self-defence, and that without occasioning any loss of
life! The missionary at Lepers' I. was one such, ap-
parently. He took upon himself to send a garbled
account of the affair to the Governor of Fiji, who was
also High Commissioner for the Western Pacific.

Captain Kilgour sailed on another voyage in the
Mystery. While in the New Hebrides, he met one of
Her Majesty's ships which had come to look for him.
Her captain offered him the alternative of going to Fiji
as a prisoner on board the man-of-war, or of proceeding
there in his own vessel. Captain Kilgour decided to
take the latter course.

When he arrived in Fiji, he was tried before Judge

MY BOATS MENACED. 189

Gorry for his offence (!), and, having been found guilty,
was fined ^"100. His "owner" paid the fine, besides
having to bear the expense occasioned by the delay of
the Mystery on her voyage. Judge Gorry wound up his
closing speech with these words : —

" If I had proof of your having killed a native, I would
have hanged you, sir — hanged you ! "

My next command was the Lucy and Adelaide, a
schooner of less tonnage than any of my former vessels,
but smart and handy to work. I sailed from Brisbane
on May 28, bound to the New Hebrides to recruit
"boys" for the Bundaberg district. I worked all the
islands from Tanna I. to the Banks' Is., with varying
success.

On the north-eastern coast of Mallicolo I., particularly
at Port Stanley and north of it, the inhabitants showed
some hostility, and our recruiting work grew very slack
in consequence.

One afternoon I had allowed the boats to get ahead
of the ship. I followed them into a narrow channel
between the mainland and two long narrow islets, a
few miles north-west of Port Stanley. As luck would
have it, I brought the vessel round Tararno islet just in
time to avert a catastrophe. I could see about a hun-
dred natives lurking among the trees, and they were
already poising their spears and drawing their bows for
an attack on the boats, which were lying to at a narrow
little strip of beach, about fifty yards further along the
shores of the islet.

The appearance of the ship checked the intended dis-
charge of weapons. Then, hauling down the jibs, I shot
the vessel's nose through the calm water right in towards
the steep beach, backing the topsail and letting go the
anchor on the very edge of the narrow fringe-reef, so close
in shore that the jib-boom nearly touched the branches of
the trees. The anchor, together with the light wind
coming over the tree-tops, brought her up. The threaten-

190 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS,

ing mob of natives cleared out instantly, without dis-
charging a single spear or arrow ; but the recruiter had
had a narrow escape from being riddled. I weighed again
almost immediately and stood on.

There was another schooner a mile or two astern of
us at the time. This was the Mary Anderson, Captain
Schultze. She followed us, and, though no one appeared
on the first islet as she passed it, her boat had a narrow
escape off the second, a shower of arrows falling around
it.

I anchored that evening between the main island and
one of the islets off its northern point. Shortly after I
had done so, the Mary Anderson brought up in com-
pany.

This proved to be a British vessel, commanded by a
master of German nationality. He held a recruiting
licence from the British Consul in Samoa, and carried no
Government agent. He was recruiting labourers for
German employers in the Samoa Is.

A partnership of nationalities, such as this, applied to
the system of recruiting, may be to the advantage of the
Polynesian, as some have said, though how it is I cannot
say. It rather suggests to me a concealed system of
slavery. I also call to mind the free and easy way in
which skippers of German vessels were wont to treat
savages, when I was in Godeffroy's employment during
previous years, as I have mentioned. Very, very small
is the number of islanders I have met, who have re-
turned from Samoa, in spite of the many taken there.
Frequent, too, have been the reports of kidnapping by
Samoan vessels that I have heard from natives, not only
then, but through all the years I have been in the trade !

From these islets I sailed to Aoba, or Lepers' I.
There I purchased, chiefly with tobacco, a considerable
stock of water-taro. This consisted of the largest and
finest specimens of the root that I have ever seen in the
Pacific

THE "WEATHER" SIDE OF PENTECOST. 191

When I was off the northern coast of Mallicolo I. one
morning, the weather and the barometer alike indicated
wind from the west, which soon freshened into a fine
gale from that quarter. I had often wished for an
opportunity of visiting the " weather side," that is, the
southern and eastern coasts, of Pentecost and Aurora Is.,
and now the opportunity had come.

Squaring away before the breeze, I ran to the southern
point of Pentecost I., and, after dodging about off it for
a night, I got a whole day's work on the eastern coast
of that island.

It is not often that the natives on this side have a
chance of communicating with a vessel, or even of seeing
one. They came down in great numbers, therefore, to
the few strips of beach scattered along the mostly pre-
cipitous coast. A wild-looking lot they were, feathered
and painted for the most part, and fully armed with
clubs, spears, bows, and poisoned arrows. We saw no
guns in their possession, and very few iron tomahawks
or knives. On the western coasts nearly every man
would be possessed of either one or the other.

The French schooner Aoba, Captain Peter Tamsen,
was in company with us, recruiting labourers for Nou-
mea. Durinsf the forenoon she obtained three or four

o

boys — children, in fact — far too young to be engaged by
me for Queensland. We had no good luck at all.

About noon, near the middle of the island, we came
to a small indentation in the coast line — hardly to be
termed a bay — overhung by steep cliffs and precipitous
hills. Here there were some boys who evidently wished
to leave home, but were doubtful which boat they should
trust themselves to.

To encourage them, Tamsen and I both stood in to
the rocks as close as we dared. Then we tacked, lying
so as to head offshore, until, drifting to leeward, each of
us had to make a tack to windward again to get near
our respective boats. This was done two or three times,

192 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

each schooner trying to cut in closer than the other,
while the recruits on board shouted and yelled to the
natives on shore.

At last I spied a patch of sunken coral, distant two or
three ship-lengths from the rocks, on which the sea was
breaking. Standing closer in, I let go my anchor on it.
So near to the shore were we then that I had to get my
kedge out ahead, with a warp, to stop the ship's stern-
way.

I did not remain there long, more especially as the
wind, now very moderate, had hauled round into the
south, and gave tokens of veering easterly. I stayed
only long enough to get seven good recruits, and then
got under way. This was the only occasion on which I
found a chance of working that coast.

As I came round the south-eastern point of the island
that morning, I saw the bottom at about eight fathoms
depth, for some distance, a quarter of a mile from the
shore. It appeared to be of coral.

The homeward passage was a quick one, though rough,
before a strong trade-wind. As we were nearing the
Queensland coast, this increased to a gale.

It was a bright, sunshiny day when I drew near Break-
sea Spit. The schooner was tearing along before the
heaviest sea I have ever witnessed in these latitudes.
She was under her lower topsail, fore trysail, inner jib
and stay foresail, with the wind a little on the port
quarter. Every now and then she rolled heavily as her
stern rose to the seas, the port boat skimming the "com-
ber," and once nearly filling. The horizon was all mist
and drift ; it was only from the main rigging that I
could get a "sight," and that only now and then, to give
me an approximate position as to latitude.

About three p.m. I sighted the sand hills on Sandy
Cape, Fraser I., a little forward of the port beam. At
the same moment, I saw a huge breaker bearing down
on us, about three points on the port bow.

ROUNDING BREAKSEA SPIT. 193

The schooner was then close on to the end of the Spit.
Suddenly a huge sea, with a roaring broken crest, swept
past and ahead of her, followed by another and yet an-
other.

" Five fathoms ! " sung out the boatswain, who was
handing in the lead amidships.

The next sea was a "boomer." A long, swiftly
moving mountain of undulating blue water swept on.
Its crest towered up like a ridge, threatening to break,
but as yet only showing a sputter of foam here and
there. For a few seconds I thought it would come right
over us, but gradually the schooner's stern rose to it,
then toppled down again behind the crest, which broke
under the bows into a driving cloud of foam and mist.

The sea had taken hold of the schooner, however. In
those few minutes I think the little craft travelled faster
than she ever did before since she was launched. She
beat the wind. Her topsail was for a few seconds flat-
aback, and her fore-and-aft canvas swung amidships.

But that sea had evidently taken her over the tail of
the Spit. The next one broke astern of her, and gradu-
ally I got into smoother water and hauled up for the
head of Hervey Bay. There I passed the following
night, not liking to make for the Burnett River, on
which Bundaberg is situated, in such weather.

Next morning I entered the river, the breeze having
dropped, getting up to the town the same day. This
was, I think, the twentieth of August, 1879.

I lay at Bundaberg nearly a month, waiting for stores
and licences from Brisbane. I then sailed again for the
New Hebrides. This second voyage in the Lucy and
Adelaide was the most uneventful one I made while en-
gaged in the labour trade, and also the shortest.

I recruited for the Brisbane district this time. My
northernmost point in the group — the New Hebrides-
was Dip Point, Ambrym I.

Unfortunately, when off Tan na I., I was seized with a

o

194 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

bad attack of fever and ague, together with a determina-
tion of blood to the head. The last symptom affected
my eyesight. My illness, in conjunction with the fre-
quent wet weather, obliged me to keep below, except
when it was absolutely necessary for me to go on deck.

Notwithstanding this, recruiting work went on quickly
and without accident. After a smart passage home, I
arrived at Brisbane on November 18, having been only
two months out. I brought with me eighty-eight recruits
— the full number my vessel was licensed to carry.

The fever had now left me, and I had recovered from
my other ailment. Still, I was weak, and therefore dis-
inclined to risk another attack by going to the islands in
the coming hurricane season. So I resigned command
of \heLucy and Adelaide, and Captain Satini took charge
of her in my place. She was wrecked in a cyclone, in
Havannah Harbour, on January 23, during her next voy-
age. She was subsequently got off, was repaired, and is
still afloat.

The barque Chevert, which had been formerly a French
transport, then employed in Macleay's exploring expedi-
tion to New Guinea, and finally fitted out as an island
trader, was dismasted in the New Hebrides about the
same time. Her people managed to bring her to Ha-
vannah Harbour, where she was purchased by Captain
McLeod, the Noumea trader. He made use of her as a
hulk at Semma.

CHAPTER XIII.

FIRST VOYAGE OF THE JABBERWOCK, 1 88o.

The Jabber \vock, auxiliary screw steamer — Great anticipations —
An inexperienced G.A. — Port Resolution — Steamers — A
Fijian kidnapper — The black brigantine — Distrust — A run-
away mother — Reed, the trader — A storm — Peril of the
Lady Darling — Port Olry — Failure of fireivood — Sau and
Nina — An instance of missionary rancour — French recruiters
— Their system and its results — Coasting Ambrym and
Paama Is. — I fall in with the Dayspring — The Dauntless
— Attack on Jier recruiting boats — Her mate and G.A. killed
— Wreck of tlie Mystery — Visit from a French skipper — 7
stand on my dignity — Vila — A walk overland — My wounded
boatman, Sam — A rough scramble — Captain Kilgours camp
— Its drawbacks — / return to Mackay — My disgust and re-
signation— Attack on the s.s. Ripple, — Chinamen killed in
New Guinea — Vieius of missionaries regarding the massacre
— Murder of Lieut. Bowers — Mandolianna I. — The Borealis
massacre — A series of outrages — The Esperanza — 77/6'
Zephyr — The Borough Belle — H.M.S. Emerald sent to
chastise the perpetrators — Her proceedings a farce — The
natives enjoy the "fireworks " — Massacres go on — Mission-
aries, traders, and •' Exeter Hall " — Why naval officers dare
not act — Traders lives of no account.

AFTER spending some months ashore, I was offered the
command of the Jabberwock, and I took charge of her
at Brisbane, in May, 1880. This vessel was an auxiliary
screw steamer rigged as a barquentine, but carrying only
a "stump" foretopmast. Great hopes were entertained
by her owners that she would prove a success in the
labour trade. Others, perhaps the more experienced in
such matters, felt grave doubts of her, even predicting
that she would prove a dead failure.

196 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

It was expected that the JabberwocKs steam power
would enable her to go into bays and inlets under the
lee of the islands, at times when sailing ships could only
lie motionless outside. These anticipations were no
doubt realized on one or two occasions. When there
was a fresh head breeze, however, the auxiliary screw
was not powerful enough to propel her against the wind.
Aorain, when it fell calm under an island, the boats could

o

tow her two or three miles before steam could be got up,
by which time, probably, it would no longer be required.
She carried sufficient coals and coke to last her about
thirty days.

The G.A. appointed to her was new to the work. He
had been previously a schoolmaster somewhere in "the
bush," in Queensland. I think, on the whole, that a
more unfit person could scarcely have been selected to
fill such a responsible situation. He had a vast idea of
his importance as a Government officer, combined with
gross ignorance of the duties and want of tact. He had
had no previous experience of savages, and possessed
little capacity for dealing with them.

I afterwards had another G.A. with me who was new
to the work. Both times I failed to make the trip a
remunerative one, returning with far less than my proper
complement of recruits.

The Jabberwock left Brisbane on May 22, bound for
the New Hebrides. Steaming down the river, as there
was no wind, I found that the greatest speed she could
make was barely six knots an hour.

The passage to the New Hebrides was made under
sail alone. When close to Tanna I., I got up steam to
take the vessel into Port Resolution. The anchorage
there had been much contracted by the effect of an
earthquake, towards the end of 1877.

The impression made upon the natives by their first
sight of the Jabberwock, moving along with bare poles,
with smoke issuing from her funnel, was that she was a

THE NATIVES DISTRUST US. 197

ship of war. They were shy of coming near my boats
in consequence. When they were told that we were
seeking for recruits, the effect was worse still. For the
steam and the vessel's green paint combined caused them
to set her down as a Samoan.

Only two other steamers had previously visited these
islands to recruit labourers. One of these hailed from
Fiji, the other from Samoa. Both had left a very bad
record behind them. The stories told of the Fijian's
doings were now seven or eight years old, and had been
well-nigh forgotten. The cruise of the Samoan was only
of recent date, however. Further north, the natives
frequently refused to believe that we were recruiting for
Queensland, expressing their belief that, if they were
engaged by us, they would be taken to Samoa.

At Tanna I., luckily, in the neighbourhood of Port
Resolution and Waisissa, the inhabitants of the coast
were acquainted with me ; so we obtained some recruits
in those localities. Between these two places some
natives complained bitterly of the conduct of a certain
black-painted vessel from Fiji, which, from their des-
cription, appeared to have been a brigantine. She had
sent a boat to their beach, and had engaged several
men, but gave a very small amount of " pay " to the
recruits' friends. Her recruiter told them he had very
little " trade " then in his boat, but that he would fetch
more from the ship ; with which he took the men away.
Three muskets, with some other articles, had been pro-
mised. However, the boat never returned to the shore
—in that neighbourhood, at any rate. My informants
were very indignant about this. Little more would have
been needed to induce them to take their revenge out of
the next whites who came along that way.

It may have been the same vessel that I heard of a
little later at Merrabwei, Mallicolo I., where I passed
a night at anchor. There, a man who was commonly
known as " Brisbane " •— a returned labourer, whom I had

198

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

landed during a former voyage — came off to the J ab-
berwock. He told us that a black " schooner " (they
apply the name to any sailing vessel, no matter what
may be her rig), hailing from Fiji, rigged "all the same,
Stomnbird" (a brigantine), had appeared off his village.
A canoe, with five men and boys in her, had gone off
with bananas and yams to trade. About half an hour

TATTOOED WOMAN — TANNA I.

after they got alongside the brigantine, the canoe drifted
away empty, and the boys were taken away to Fiji.

Though this man averred that his friends had been
kidnapped, we must recollect that islanders who wish to
go away contrary to the wishes of their friends, often
adopt some such plan of escaping. Certain Lammen
islanders did so during my fourth voyage in the Stanley,
as I have related. Moreover, such a party, visiting a
vessel to trade, would be sure to include one or two

A RUNAWAY MOTHER. 199

" old hands " who could speak English or Fijian. These
would certainly make the fact of their having been kid-
napped known to the authorities, on their arrival in the
colony.

At P'ort Stanley the- inhabitants declined to come near
the boats, and one man called out from a little distance,
" You go away ! You no belong Brisbane ! You no-
good ! Me savez you!"

One woman only was engaged here. She had " made
a bolt," and came alongside at night in a small canoe.
Next morning another canoe came off to the ship, con-
taining a man and — a baby !

The inhuman mother had deserted her child. She
was packed off ashore again to rear it, or to be clubbed,
as her friends might decide.

Here and there we picked tip a few recruits, but it
was slow work. At last, one morning, when it was
almost calm,. I steamed round to the west end of Mota-
lava, one of the Banks' Is. Seeing the smoke rising
from the funnel, the natives at first supposed the ship to
be a man-of-war. Her small size, perceptible as she
got nearer, next led them to think she was a missionary
packet — the Southern Cross. Finally, when they could
make out the green-painted hull, they concluded she was
from Samoa, and were excited accordingly.

This false impression was soon dissipated, however.
Charlie Reed, a white trader who was an old acquaint-
ance of mine, came on board. When he went ashore
again, he vouched for us, satisfying the natives that
our destination was Brisbane. The same afternoon I
steamed over to Ureparapara. Entering the bay, I
found an anchorage close to the head of it.

At this place, too, the natives were very doubtful
about us and our destination, notwithstanding that Reed
had come over with us, and that he asserted we were
bound for Queensland. Another schooner, said to be
the Lady Darling, may have caused this impression.

200 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Some of the natives said her recruiter, who had been
visiting the outer coast of the island, had told them we
were from Samoa.

I drew a blank altogether at Ureparapara. So, after
spending two nights there, I steamed out of the bay
and beat back to Motalava under sail alone. There I
anchored, as before, on the north-western coast of the
island. I obtained a few recruits there, though not with-
out difficulty. Many of the natives put no faith in us,
but believed we were deceiving their friend Charlie.
Those who wished to engage were mostly restrained
by force from doing so.

I worked southward after leaving Motalava. While
we were at anchor off Lakon, the Lady Darling arrived
and brought up about a mile from us. That evening

<~> i. o

my glass began to fall, and there were signs of a coming
change in the weather. I therefore gave orders to the
anchor watch to call me, should there be any alteration
during the night. At daylight, when I came on deck, I
saw that the sooner I got away out of that anchorage the
better. In fact, I ought to have been called up before.
The sky was overcast, a heavy black cloud-bank rising
in the west.

All hands were summoned on deck, and then, while
the recruits hove in the cable, the crew made sail. Just
as the anchor was tripped, the squall caught us, and,
throwing her head off to port, canted the ship over to
her covering board. But the anchor came up cheerily,
while the yards were trimmed, and the vessel stood
along the land — which was barely visible through the
thick rain, close as it was — until we had cleared the
south-western point of the island, and had got sea-room
to leeward.

The Lady Darling was caught at her anchor, and had
to ride out the squall, having no room to get under way.
Her stern was all the time in unpleasant proximity to
the rocks. Luckily for her, the wind only lasted an hour

STARTLING A SLEEPER. 201

or two, so that the sea did not rise much. Had it been
otherwise, little more would have been seen of the Lady
Darling !

From this island I went to the northern coast of
Espiritu Santo I., anchoring in Port Olry. There the
Jabberwock lay for three days, while she was given a
fresh coating of paint to hide her unfortunate green.
This time I painted her black, with a narrow red ribbon.
After that she was no more mistaken for a Samoan.

While we lay at Port Olry, we were informed by the
natives that, shortly before, a black "schooner" had put
in there. They said her people had " stolen " two men
and three women, who had been engaged cutting a path
through the scrub between the village and the shore.

I paid a visit to this village, accompanied by the
G.A., the recruiter, and a boat's crew. We found it
deserted by all but one man, who was asleep in a hut.
How astonished he looked when he woke up to find us
gazing in at him ! His terror was so great, that, as we
blocked up the doorway, he just rushed at the thatched
wall of the hut, burst through it, and went off like the
wind. No doubt he spread the news of our visit, for we
heard some yelling after this, though we saw no more
natives on our return to the boats.

Frequent steaming had now reduced my stock of coal
to a very low ebb. By way of experiment, therefore, I
collected several boatloads of good firewood for the
engine furnace. It proved of little use, however, when
we came to try it. One fine, calm evening, when the
fresh paint had dried, the engineer made tip his fire with
this wood. It took just four hours to raise sufficient
steam with it to propel the vessel out of the harbour and
so to sea, at the slow rate of one and a half miles an
hour.

Next morning, when we were well away from the land,
the fires were drawn, and then all the wood we did not
want for the galley was "dumped" overboard.

202

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

As soon as steam had been got up again with coal, I
stood over to Lepers' I., passing the Chance becalmed
on the way. There I anchored westward of Walurigi
mission station, on the north coast.

At this place I received a visit from two old acquaint-
ances— Sau, and his wife, Nina. When I had last seen
them, they were employed at the house of an old friend

SA.U AND NINA.

of mine — Mr. Rawson, of Kirkgvabbin plantation, near
Maryborough.- Sau was just as quiet, even dull, as he
always had been*, while Nina was correspondingly lively.
But now, no " Dolly Yarden " cap surmounted Nina's
woolly head. The neat short dress she had worn in
Queensland had made way for a not too decent waist-
cloth, and, altogether, the pair looked as if their stock of
soap had been long exhausted.

BOYCOTTED BY THE MISSIONARY. 203

They inquired about the welfare of their old em-
ployers, especially about the children. Then Mrs. Nina
indulged in a dance round the decks, kissed two or three
of the crew who took her fancy, and finally passed some
very uncomplimentary remarks upon our G.A.

I tried to persuade them to re-engage and return with
me to Queensland. But Nina, who still " bossed " her
husband, as she always had' done, was not yet tired of
her liberty. Having obtained a pipe and some tobacco,
she volunteered to act as interpreter in the recruiting
boat, in which capacity she actually brought back four
boys to the ship, as recruits.

A teacher from' the mission station came on board
here, and requested me to take him and some others
over to Lakarere, Aurora I. He told' me that the Rev.
Mr. Bice had gone thither from Walurigi, in order to
form another mission station there. I declined to take
them on board, however, not being then certain as to
my next movements.

The following, day a light wind from south-east took
me to Lakarere, after all. There the natives told us
that they were ordered by the missionary to have no
communication1 with any labour vessel, not even to sell
food to one. I therefore sailed again> working the
western coasts of Aurora L and Pentecost I., and making
southward;

Near the southern ex-tremity of Aurora L, a fore-and-
aft schooner passed us one evening, going northward.
Next day we were close to the village of Melsisi, Pente-
cost I. When the boats came back from the shore, my
recruiter reported that the natives were in a dangerous
state of mind. One who could speak English had told
him that the French schooner Aurora, had been there
the day before, and that her boat, manned exclusively
by coloured men, had visited their beach.

A few natives had gone to meet them, one man offer-
ing a bunch of bananas for sale. The steersman of the

204 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

boat, finding no boys disposed to go to New Caledonia,
attempted to kidnap one of them ; but his intended
prisoner got away. Then, as all the natives ran off, the
steersman, a Lifu man, known as " Black Tom," fired his
revolver after them, mortally wounding the unfortunate
vendor of bananas. This poor fellow lay at the point of
death when my boat left the beach.

So much I gathered from my recruiter. When I
spoke to the G.A. about it, he said that he had paid no
attention to the native's story, as it did not concern him.
It is hardly surprising that such outrages should have
been committed, when it is remembered that the French
Government officers were not in the habit of going
ashore with the boats. They were, therefore, not at
hand to superintend the actual engagement of recruits.
Their boats were usually manned and officered by un-
civilized Polynesians.

Off Malvat I fell in with a black-painted brigantine.
The Jabberwock was under steam at the time, and at a
distance might have been mistaken for a man-of-war.
As soon as we were sighted, the brigantine — which had
been lying off Malvat, with a crowd of canoes round
her — squared away, and did not communicate with us.
The Malvat people said she was the Au Revoir, of
Fiji.

About this time, the wind enabled me to get to the
southward without using any more coal. The boats
meanwhile coasted along the shores of Ambry in and
Paama Is., looking for recruits and keeping in company
with the vessel. Then the wind shifted into the west,
began to freshen, and at last settled down into a stiff
south-west breeze, which lasted about two days. During
this I lay at anchor off Tautari, on the extreme north of
Api I.

At the same time, the mission-packet Dayspring,
Captain Braithwaite, experienced a rough time of it.
She was on the north side of the Foreland, exposed to

ATTACK ON RECRUITING BOATS. 205

the full force of wind and sea, and was too close to the
land to venture to get under way.

At Tautari we heard that two white men had been
lately killed near the Foreland. We supposed that they
must have belonged to the Dayspring.

As soon as the breeze had blown itself out, the wind
chopped round to south-east. I then got under way and
" spoke " the mission vessel, which was still at anchor.
She was landing building material for a new mission
station, a mile or two south of the Foreland. I found all
well on board of her ; but the report we had heard was
not without foundation.

It appeared that on July 2Oth, the fore-and-aft
schooner Dauntless, of Fiji, Captain Jones, had sent her
boat ashore a little distance north of the Foreland. As
the boat approached the beach, some natives, who were
ambushed in the scrub which fringed the shore, fired a
volley into her. Fraser, the second mate, was shot dead.
Nicholl, the G.A., was struck by no less than seven
bullets, and mortally wounded. He afterwards died in
Levuka hospital. One boatman was shot through the
loins, while another, a Fijian, was wounded, but managed
to scull the boat off towards the vessel. The other
boatmen jumped overboard and swam off.

The natives of the adjoining villages attempted to
excuse the perpetrators of these murders. They stated
that the deed was done in retaliation for an outrage
committed by the boatmen belonging to the French
schooner Aurora. These had taken away a chiefs son,
and had shot his father, who had attempted to prevent
the boy from going away.

At Man, where I got two or three recruits, a report
was in circulation that a vessel had lately been wrecked
on the east coast of Sandwich I. We were unable to
obtain particulars, even as to her name. At Havannah
Harbour this report was verified. The unlucky vessel
proved to have been the Mystery, Captain Kilgour,

206 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

from Mackay, Mr. A. Macdonald G.A. All hands had
been saved, and were now camped near the wreck.
While I lay at Havannah, the Aurora, the French
schooner just mentioned, came to an anchor near us.

Having "swung" the Jabberwock, in order to adjust
my compasses, I sailed next day for Vila, intending to
anchor there, and then to travel overland and ascertain if
I could be of any assistance to the crew of the Mystery.
Meanwhile, the recruiter could be doing his best to obtain
some more recruits, pending our return home.

The weather was now too boisterous for me to attempt
communication with the shipwrecked party on the weather
coast.

When off Tukatuka Point, the wind blew so strongly
that I was unable to beat up to Vila, so I brought up
under the lee of the Point, off Ford's plantation. The
Aurora came in just behind me, and anchored near.
Her skipper said she had sustained some damage in one
of the heavy puffs of wind, while passing through the
main entrance of Havannah Harbour.

The French captain and his Government officer paid
us a visit. Having been told by my G.A. of the reports
we had heard about them, they were profuse in their ex-
planations and denials. They left us in a bad humour,
for I declined to dine on board the Aurora that even-
ing. I knew enough French to understand what the
skipper meant, when I overheard him remarking to his
companion that my refusal was diplomatique. I think he
apprehended mischief from me.

Next day I got round to Vila, and anchored there.
The day after, with a couple of boatmen and a Vila
guide, I landed and walked to Pango village. There
another guide was procured, with a canoe, to take me to
Errakova. I found Mr. Mackenzie and his family absent
from the mission station.

Then I met Sam, the boatman who was accidentally
wounded while with me in the Stormbird. His wound

A ROUGH SCRAMBLE. 207

had never healed properly, very likely the consequence
of neglect. There was now a running sore in his foot.
It would have been better for him if he had accepted my
offer and gone on in the Stormbird to Maryborough.
He would have been properly treated in hospital there,
and would have had a fair chance of recovery.

We canoed some little distance from Errakova, which
is an islet, situated in a large and deep lagoon, be-
tween the main island and the barrier reef. The rest of
the way we walked. It was hard travelling along that
native track. In some places it was rough and stony, in
others we were over our ankles in wet bog. We had to
traverse loose sandy beaches, to wade through creeks,
and to climb up the steep faces of lofty coral plateaux,
only to tumble and slide down again a few hundred yards
further on.

At length, when the sun was getting low, and I was
thoroughly fagged out, and hungry as well, we arrived
on the bank of a creek, beyond which was a village. A
canoe took us across. Then, with two or three sticks of
tobacco, I purchased a meal of yam and banana. This
we washed down with the water of young cocoanuts, not
the milk, which is a preparation.

Just beyond the village there was a long and deep
inlet of the sea. On the further shore of this lay Kil-
gour's second camp, some miles away from the wreck.
The spot we were at was somewhere near the middle of
the southern coast of Sandwich I.

The only canoes available here were small and frail.
The owners were indisposed to lend them ; for a strong
swell was running into the inlet from the ocean. Fortu-
nately, the Mystery s boat chanced to come within hail.
In her my boatmen and I crossed over to the camp,
leaving my guides where they were.

A sail converted into a tent, with a "humpy" or two
of boughs, constituted this camp. It was situated on a
low stony strip of beach facing the inlet, and was backed

2o8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

by thick forest and jungle. The place was swarming
with mosquitos and sandflies, an occasional scorpion or
centipede creating an unwelcome diversion.

The camp was in charge of two of the white crew of
the Mystery, with three or four Polynesians, Kilgour
and Macdonald being then absent. About sundown they
appeared, coming from the wreck, with a train of boat-
men and " returns," all laden with provisions, stores,
trade, and so forth, part of their salvage.

I did not fancy passing a night here, for the mosqui-
tos and sandflies were terrible. So I was glad when
Kilgour announced his attention of starting immediately
for Vila in his boat, whence he would afterwards go on
to Havannah Harbour. He seemed to think that he
and his G.A. could pull through their difficulties all right.
He did not care to send his white crew home with me,
being unable to spare them then. Some other vessel
would be sure to take them later on, and one would be
found eventually to take his " returns" home. All I could
do for him was to execute some commissions in Mackay,
whither I was now bound.

We issued out of the inlet into the open sea, just as
the last red glow of sunset was fading from the western
sky. Running before a fresh breeze, with a regular sea,
we reached Vila, getting on board the Jabberwock about
midnight.

Next day, I sailed for Mackay with sixty-four recruits.
I arrived there on August 31, having just enough coal left
on board to take the ship into the Pioneer River the day
after, and thence up to the town. There she was moored,
alongside the river bank, and her recruits were landed.

o

Disgusted with the result of the late voyage, my num-
ber of recruits being far short of the ship's full comple-
ment, as well as with the vessel herself, her "jury" rig
and trumpery steam power, 1 threw up my command-
foolishly, I acknowledge.

The vessel soon after went to Brisbane, where her

Af ASS ACRE OF CHINAMEN. 209

engine was taken out of her. Though she still continued
in the labour trade, it was as a sailing vessel only. Her
rig remained unaltered, until, when sold to another
owner, I again commanded her in 1882.

In August of this year (1880) the s.s. Ripple was
nearly captured by natives in Bougainville Strait, Solo-
mon Is. On board of her were Captain Ferguson, a
crew of three whites and sixteen Kanakas, and two
passengers — a German and an island woman. The cap-
tain, two Kanakas, and the woman were killed ; Mr.
Spence, a passenger, and thirteen Kanakas were
wounded, the first seriously. About fifty of the savages
were killed before they were beaten off.

The inhabitants of the Louisiade Archipelago, and
those of the mainland of New Guinea, still continued to
make things lively for strangers who visited them.

A letter in " The Brisbane Courier," October 6, 1880.
written by the Revs. J. Chalmers and T. Beswick, and
dated from New Guinea, related how at Aroma village,
on the mainland, seven heads of Chinamen had then re-
cently been paraded in triumph by the natives. These
unfortunates had formed part, or the whole, of the crew
of a Chinese junk, and had been, engaged in collecting
and curing beche-de-mer. On account of their " acting in
an excessively free and indecent manner towards the
native women," they were desired by the natives to leave
that neighbourhood. The Chinamen refused to comply
with this demand, and then other troubles arose, until, at
lest, the natives assembled — most probably — to attack
the intruders.

The Chinese took the initiative, and fired first on the
natives. In the end they were worsted.

Had this happened at any considerable distance from
where the missionaries were residing, even had the vic-
tims been Europeans, so long as they were merely traders
or recruiters, we might have expected that little notice
would have been take" of it. Possibly in such a cyse, it

r

2io THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS,

would have been said that the massacre was only the
natural result of the usual conduct of " brutal scoundrels."
But Aroma was too near home. Messieurs Chalmers
and Beswick acknowledged the justice of the natives'
action, but suggested that this slaughter of Chinese, who
had abused women and fired first on their relatives and
friends, would afford a good opportunity — "excuse"
would have been a better word — for the infliction of a
salutary and exemplary punishment, and thus, in the long
run, be the means of saving the lives of both foreigners
and natives. Surely this was an adoption of the Jesuiti-
cal doctrine that the end justifies the means !

About September 8, Captain Foreman and his crew,
consisting of seven Europeans and as many Chinese, of
the schooner Annie Brookes, were murdered by natives
of Brooker I., in the Louisiade Archipelago.

A month or two later, Captain Frier, of the Vibilia,
which had been wrecked in that group, brought to Cook-
town intelligence of the murder of a party of French
naturalists, at James Bay, Moresby I., off the south-
eastern point of New Guinea.

During the latter part of this year H.M.S. Sandfly was
cruising among the Solomon Is., and anchored at Mboli,
on the north-east coast of one of the Florida Is. Her
commander, Lieutenant Bowers, deluded by the friendly
attitude of the natives, and probably imagining that the
fact of his vessel being a " man-of-war" was sufficient to
command respect, left the Sandfly at anchor, and started
on a boat-cruise round the southernmost of these islands.

Not suspecting that any savages were watching for a
good opportunity to attack him, he landed on the little
uninhabited islet of Mandolianna, and strolled away from
his boat, unarmed. His men, equally off their guard,
were bathing, when a party of natives, who had landed
on the other side of the islet, rushed on them and
slaughtered all but one. The exception was a man
named Savage, who escaped by swimming to the main

A SERIES OF OUTRAGES. 211

island. There he was protected by the chief of Baranago
village until rescued.

The bodies of Lieutenant Bowers, and of the four men
murdered with him, were found on the islet a few days
after, by a party sent to look for them, and were buried
there. So also was the body of another seaman, named
Buckley, one of the search party, who was shot dead
in the boat, which was also attacked.

On December 7, the schooner Chance arrived at
Brisbane, bringing news of the capture of the Borealis,
brigantine, in the Solomon group, and the massacre of
most of her crew. This vessel had been on a recruiting
voyage from Fiji, and was owned and commanded by
Captain Mackenzie, whose son accompanied him as mate.
She had anchored off the islet of Kwai, on the north-
eastern coast of Malayta I. Mackenzie and his G.A.
had left the vessel there, while they went in the boats
along the coast to recruit labourers. The mate and the
rest of the crew were engaged on board, setting up
the rigging.

The natives, being allowed to come on board unre-
strainedly, attacked the crew, killing all hands except
the cook.

The captain and the G.A., on their return, were
obliged to abandon the vessel and coast round the north
of the island, where they found the labour schooners
Stanley, Flirt, and Dauntless^ at anchor.

These vessels immediately weighed anchor and beat
round to Kwai. They recaptured the Borealis, taking-
summary vengeance on such of the natives as they caught
in the act of plundering her.

The Borealis was then taken back to Fiji by the mate
of the Stanley, with a volunteer crew from her and the
other vessels.

Other outrages committed by Kanakas during the
same year were the murder of the crew of the Esper-
anza, Captain Mclntosh, at Kulambangra I., of part of

212 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the crew of the Zephyr, at Choiseul I., both in the Solo-
mon group, and of boatmen of the Borough Belle, at
Gaua, Banks' Is.

In consequence of these affairs, and especially on
account of the murder of Lieutenant Bowers, H.M.S.
Emerald — Captain Maxwell — was sent to the islands ;
but, as usual, she did little or nothing. She returned to
Sydney at the end of January, 1881, her cruise having
been a mere farce.

It would seem that she visited Bougainville I., where
Captain Ferguson and others had been murdered. There
she burned some villages and canoes, and destroyed
cocoanut trees, but no natives were hurt.

At Choiseul I., where the crew of the Zephyr had been
slaughtered, property was destroyed, and one woman
was wounded, but no one was killed. At Kulambangra
L, where the crew of the Esperanza had been killed, no-
body was hurt, merely the usual destruction of property.
At the Florida Is. much the same programme was
carried out, and " one small nigger " captured.

What may have been done at Kwai, Malayta I., where
the Borealis had been seized, I cannot say. I heard that
a man-of-war had anchored there, and that her captain
sent word ashore that he intended to bombard the islet.
Thus warned, the natives transported all their valuables
to the mainland, a quarter of a mile off. Then they sat
down on the beach there, and enjoyed the " fireworks ! "

At Brooker I., in the Louisiade Archipelago, one
prisoner was made, and two witnesses were brought away.
At Mewstone I. one man was taken prisoner, but after-
wards released, and a woman was hurt. I think one man
was killed, somewhere in the Archipelago, at a place where
they captured a canoe with a white man's skull in it.

The paper that reported the events of this cruise also
stated that the French war steamer, D'Estrees, had re-
cently visited Brooker I., where her people killed nine of
the natives.

INFLUENCE OF EXETER HALL. 213

So little did their punishment (?) affect the natives of
Kwai, that, scarcely a year later, they cut off the brig
Janet Stewart, massacring all hands on board, save one
who managed to conceal himself.

In February, 1881, Captain Schwartz, of the Leslie, a
Sydney schooner, was murdered near Cape Marsh. This
was the same place where Captain Murray, of the Ltzlia,
had been killed some little time previously.

The Lady Darling, labour schooner, Captain McDou-
gall, was wrecked near Port Sandwich, New Hebrides,
in March. Fortunately, three vessels were close at hand
at the time — the schooners lo, and Stanley, and the Lady
Belmore, brig. The crew of the Lady Darling escaped
on board the lo.

Outrages still continued on the coasts of New Guinea
and on neighbouring islands, in districts never yet
visited by the trader.

Two teachers, with their wives and children, were
murdered at Kalo, New Guinea.

The Rev. Mr. Beswick, and an anonymous writer,
addressed letters to the colonial papers, in which they
demanded that the murderers should be punished. It
was stated that within the last two and a half years, eight
massacres had taken place on the south-eastern coast of
New Guinea ; that hitherto, ships of the British navy
had done no good there ; and that the natives freely
expressed such opinions as, " Man-o'-war like one big
woman ! " I may add that I have often heard much the
same contempt expressed in the Solomon group.

The influence in Great Britain, and, in a lesser degree,
in the Southern Australian colonies, of "Exeter Hall"
philanthropy, — of men, who, although well meaning, have
never travelled outside of civilized countries ; who have
lived all their lives in a state of comparative security ;
who cannot possibly conceive the feelings of others who
live, day by day, with their lives in their hands, — is to be
blamed for the majority of these murders in the South

2i4 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Sea Islands. Were sufficient punishment meted out to
the natives for a first offence, it would effectually prevent
the commission of others.

Our naval officers know that, were they to shed a
" poor savage's " blood, a howl of indignation would be
raised, and then "good-bye" to their chance of advance-
ment in the service.

As we have seen, missionaries are not backward in
demanding, and even in taking vengeance, when their
own interests or lives are threatened. But traders' lives
are of small account to them ; and some are not so good
but what they will poison the minds of natives against
the traders, through jealous envy of their influence.

Traders may be good or bad, as in civilized countries ;
but it ought not to be forgotten that it is to the trader's
interest to be friendly with, and to behave fairly towards,
the islanders.

CHAPTER XIV.

SEVENTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, l88l.

I take charge of the Stanley — Sail for the Solomon Is. — Tom
Tamoan — The Santa Cruz Is. — No interpreters — Santa
Anna I. — San Christoval I. — Massacre of bush natives by a
coast tribe — A cannibal feast — Drifting ashore — Maramasiki
I. — Aio I. — / meet King Berry — Mode of preparing copra —
Cocoanut oil — Collecting and curing beche-de-mer — The
north-eastern coast of Isabel I. — No inhabitants — King
Berry's raids — Burning coral for lime — Exploring — A broken
anchor — Searching- for Port Praslin — Invaders from Clioiseul
I. — A native sepulchre — Its contents — Relics — The missing
boats — Return of the wanderers — Finding a strange derelict
— Blockade of the Floridas by British cruisers — Results of
their action — The coast of Malay ta I. — Desertion of a recruit
— Back to the Floridas — Tom Tamoan recognized — His island
discovered — The coast of Guadalcanal — Story of Wanderer
Bay — Bellona I. — Poor Tom landed — His reception by his
people — Their gratitude to me — Touching noses wifk a chief-
Tom prevents recruits from joining — An inquisitive native
and a loaded rifle — Kanaka ideas of justice — Remarks on the
Solomon Islanders — The Papuan character — Massacre of
French priests — / return to Maryborough

IN April, 1881, I was once more appointed master of the
Stanley. I took charge of her at Maryborough, and
sailed with the intention of going direct to the Solomon Is.

Tom Tamoan, the islander who had accompanied me
in the Stormbird, and who, in South Sea vernacular, " had
been lose him island," went with me again as a boatman.

Tom still had hopes that I would find out what island
he belonged to, so he brought all his property with him.
For he was to be landed if our search should prove suc-
cessful.

216 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I left Hervey Bay with a nice fair wind and stood to
northward through the Coral Sea, until I had reached the
vicinity of Indispensable Reef, in 13° south latitude.
There the wind drew rapidly round from south-east to
north, freshening up into a gale. Three days of this
drove me back about seventy miles. Then the breeze
moderated a little, and I stood eastward on an easy bow-
line, under the lower canvas, until Santo Espiritu I. was
sighted ahead ; soon after which the wind died away to
a dead calm.

After that came three weeks' " doldrums " — horrible
weather — calms under a blazing sun, alternating with
variable puffs of wind, generally from north-west, and
deluges of rain. I managed to get as far as Nitendi I.
and the Duff Is. in the Santa Cruz group, but was unable
to secure a single recruit.

At the Reef islets, in the northern part of the group, I
think I might have recruited some men. Several came
alongside in canoes and boarded us, making signs that
they would go in the ship. But, as luck would have it, 1
was without an interpreter, and not one of the islanders
knew a word of English.

One day, while a light breeze was blowing, I found
myself to windward of a canoe, which was crossing from
the Reef islets to Nitendi. The half-dozen men in her
were awfully scared when we ran down to her, hove to,
and lowered a boat, in which I went alongside her. She
was a well-built craft, but her huge mat sail was a very
clumsy affair.

I traded for some taro, which they were willing to part
with, and so left them to continue their voyage.

At last, early one morning, a breeze sprang up from
south-eastward. I was then off the south-east coast of
Nitendi I. It was in a bay on the northern coast of this
island that Bishop Patteson was killed, in 1871. The
breeze freshened up into a steady " trade," which carried
me to the small island of Santa Anna, at the south-

A CANNIBAL FEAST. 217

eastern extremity of the Solomon group. There I
anchored in a small bay, named Port Mary, where the
anchorage is protected on the west by a long spit of coral
reef. It is a good harbour for small vessels.

Captain McDonald's chief trading station was situated
at Port Mary, near a large native village. My stay
there was a short one, there being no prospect of recruits.
Having shipped such water as was necessary to fill up
my tanks, I commenced recruiting at Cape Keibeck, on
the northern coast of San Christoval I. I succeeded in
getting three recruits from a village named Makira.

The same evening I stood into a bay with a broad
sandy beach, a few miles west of the cape ; but, finding
the water too deep to anchor in, I was obliged to stand
out to sea again for the night.

Only a year before this, a party of bushmen, some
forty in number, had come down to this bay, intending
to ship on board the Borealis for service in Fiji. They
arrived in the evening, and camped for the night on the
beach, meaning to engage next morning.

A mile or two away, there is a large village belonging
to a tribe of" beach " men, the hereditary enemies of the
" bushmen," or natives of the interior. After it was
dark, these beach natives mustered all their strength,
and attacked the bush party unawares. They massacred
all of them, and, for the rest of the night, fires blazed all
along the beach. The crew of the Borealis could hear
the cannibals shouting and laughing, as they danced and
feasted around them.

On the south-east side of Ugi I., the Stanley had a
narrow escape from shipwreck. It was about one o'clock
in the morning, the sky being dark and gloomy and the sea
dead calm, when the mate roused me up. He told me
that the ship appeared to be drifting on shore, and there
was no wind to help her off. When I got on deck, the
breakers seemed by the sound to be not more than a
hundred yards away, while the swell, rolling in from

2i8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

south-east, was lifting the ship further and further in
towards them. This coast of the island is " steep to," so
that to let go an anchor would have simply been to
lose it, as our cables would not have reached bottom a
hundred yards away from the breakers.

Both boats were accordingly sent ahead to tow the
ship off; but with no avail. The swell prevented her
from gathering headway ; so there she hung for a good
hour or more, with her stern sometimes not more than
ten yards from the breakers. The boatmen were becom-
ing thoroughly tired out, when a light puff came over the
island and filled the upper sails. Then, a smart squall
struck the ship and ran her out of danger, the boats
hanging on alongside while it lasted.

The next day was dull and cloudy, with a strong
breeze from the west, which carried the ship to Port
Adams, on the eastern coast of Maramasiki I.

This island was formerly represented on the charts as
merely a part of its greater neighbour, Malayta I. They
are really separated by a narrow channel, about twenty-
five miles in length, and, in some places, not more than
two cables (400 yards) in width. The southern mouth
of it lies about fifteen miles north-west of Cape Zelee,
the south-easternmost point of Maramasiki I.

I worked this side of Maramasiki and Malayta Is. as
far as lyoh or Aio I., and obtained a few recruits. One
of these, who was engaged on the Malayta side of the
north or " estuary " end of the channel, afterwards de-
serted at Alite Bay.

I anchored on the south-west side of Aio I., in a shallow
bay, on the shore of which were some huts, a spit of reef
projecting from 'its southern point. At the end of the
spit and close to it, there is a dangerous smooth rock, just
under the surface.

Our recruiting was not successful here, for the natives
were very shy of approaching the boats. They probably
expected reprisals on our part ; for my recruiter — an

I MEET KING BERRY. 219

" old hand " here — recognized several Kwai men in the
neighbourhood. These had probably fled hither to
escape the consequences of participation in the Borealis
massacre.

It was evening when I left Aio. That night I ran
down to the north end of Malayta I., and there tried the
coast about Sio Bay, but without much luck. I then
crossed over to Isabel I., anchoring at first in Cockatoo
Harbour, east of the entrance to Thousand Ships Bay.

There I found the brigantine Venture, Captain
Walsche, at anchor. On board of her I made the
acquaintance of an Isabel I. potentate, known as King

KING BERRY.

Berry. His capital, a collection of huts built upon piles,
which crowns the summit of a small rocky peninsula, is
situated not far from Cape Prieto.

King Berry was then much dreaded by the inhabitants
of Isabel I., along half the length of the south-western
coast, and on the opposite side as far as Mt. Marescot.
Many a ruined village attested the devastating energy of
his forays. When I met him, Captain Walsche was sort-
ing out a large quantity of " trade," to barter with
him for copra, beche-de-mer, tortoise-shell, and other
island produce.

22O

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

As I have occasionally mentioned these articles — copra
and beche-de-mer — a short description of them may not
come amiss.

When I first visited the South Sea Islands, in 1868, the
cocoanut was chiefly used for the manufacture of cocoa-
nut oil. Owing to the rude appliances used, there was a
great waste of the oil during its preparation. The Ger-
man firms, whose headquarters were in the Navigator's
or Samoa Is., then conceived the idea of drying the nuts,
and so sending them to Europe. There, powerful
machinery could be employed to express the oil, thus
effecting a saving of about one-third of it. The refuse,
I have heard, is made into a cake as food for cattle.

A COPRA STATION.

The drying process is now all that the nut undergoes in
the islands.

The mode of preparing copra is a simple one. The
nut is first split into halves with an axe, after which it is
exposed to the sun. The heat soon loosens the kernel,
which is then picked out, broken into fragments, and yet
further dried. Sun-drying affords the best results. The
islanders seldom take so much trouble with it. They
hang it up over their fires instead, where it soon loses all
moisture and becomes hard and brown.

Occasionally, the oil itself is required in the islands,
and then this is the plan I have seen adopted in the New

MODE OF PREPARING COPRA. 221

Hebrides for its extraction. The nut is first husked, by
driving it down upon a sharp-pointed stake, or bar of
iron, set firmly upright in the ground. This penetrates
the tough husk — care being taken not to break the shell
within it — and a strong wrench or two with both hands
suffices to tear it off. Next, a deft blow on the side
splits the shell and its contents into two cup-shaped
halves. The white " meat," or kernel, is then scraped
out.

The scraper employed is generally a piece of stout
hoop iron, about nine inches long, fixed on and pro-
jecting from the end of a plank or bench, which the

HUSKING AND SCRAPING COCOANUTS.

operator sits upon to steady it. He holds the split nut
with both hands, and works the hollow inner side over
the end of the scraper, the shredded kernel falling into a
basket below.

Formerly, on the Tanna oil-stations, a practised islander
would husk, break, and scrape from 200 to 250 nuts per
diem.

The scraped kernel is kept for a day or two in the
" rotting " cask, a little salt water being sprinkled through
it to assist decomposition. It is then mixed and pounded
into a pulp — generally by the feet of the " boys "-—and
placed in the upper part of canoes or hollowed logs,

222

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

which are tilted up at one end. The heat of the sun
acting on the pulp, causes the oil to exude from it and
flow down to the lower end of the canoes. It is finally
collected, strained, and then run into casks.

Sometimes, instead of this "sweating" process, the
shredded kernel is boiled in water in large iron pots, the
oil being skimmed off the surface. This is considered
the most cleanly and saving process ; but pots are not
always available on these islands.

Beche-de-mer — the Malayan " tripang " — is a marine
slug found on coal reefs. Imagine a tough flexible mass,
not unlike india-rubber, from eight to twelve inches long,
and three to five inches thick, the ends rounded, some-

COCOANUT-OIL STATION.

times rather pointed, with a hole in each ; colour black,
dull red, or yellow. Within this there is a stomach,
which seems to hold nothing but sand, with a little soft
yellow fat. The creature possesses neither eyes, nose,
nor means of locomotion, so far as I can judge. It is
simply gathered by hand off the tops of the reefs, or
out of the shallows at low water.

This " fish " must be boiled very soon after it has
been gathered, then cleaned and dried. So prepared, it is
ready for market. It requires to be stored with great
care, as the slightest damp will cause it to rot. The
boiling must be carefully attended to, since either too long

CURING BECHE-DE-MER. 223

or too short a period would be equally detrimental. The
average time allowed is between fifteen and twenty
minutes.

When I was " fishing " beche-de-mer on the coast of
Queensland, in 1867, we used to ascertain whether the
fish was properly cooked by taking one out of the boiling-
pot and throwing it up in the air. If it rebounded
sharply when it fell — " slotted," as we called it — then it
was not cooked enough. If it fell "squash," it was
spoiled by too much cooking. But when it fell pretty
dead, hard, without rebounding, the pot was emptied
immediately ; as that indicated it was just done enough.

The next process is to cut open the " fish " lengthwise,
and to take out the entrails and sand contained in it.
The more valuable, large, thick fish are then distended
by small pieces of wood, to promote drying. The final
operation of curing is performed in a smoke-house.
Sometimes, chiefly in equatorial latitudes, the Chinese
complete the curing by sun-drying only.

In the smoke-houses the fish are arranged on raised
floors of cane-work, sometimes of wire netting ; a
fire of green wood burning on the ground beneath the
frames. Smoking takes from ten to sixteen hours ; after
which the " fish " ought to be thoroughly cured and fit
for market.

I was unable to obtain any recruits from Isabel I.
King Berry would not allow any of his people to leave
home. I dare say Captain Walsche's influence may have
been unfavourable to me also. Copra traders are gene-
rally opposed to the labour trade. The more men there
are on the islands, to make copra and buy tobacco with
it, the better for them. Besides — like the mission-
aries— they cannot bamboozle the "returned" labourers
so easily as they do the unsophisticated savage.

Having filled up my water-tanks, the boats made the
circuit of Thousand Ships Bay. They obtained nothing
more valuable, however, than half a boat-load of huge

224 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

oysters, which the men gathered off the roots of the
mangrove trees at the head of the bay.

Leaving Cockatoo Harbour, I beat round Cape Prieto
to the eastern coast of the island. There I got a few
recruits at a large village about a couple of miles beyond
Ortega or Mahiji islet. The natives told me a vessel
had been wrecked there some two years before this. A
little further north are three islets — not marked on the
chart. Between the largest of these and the main island,
I anchored in eighteen fathoms, much to the bewilder-
ment of a huge alligator, which paid us a visit of
inspection, quickly disappearing when my boatmen made
a target of it.

This coast is very imperfectly laid down on the
Admiralty charts. I was much surprised to find a large
land-locked harbour, eastward of a remarkable hill called
the Mahagga Saddle. This harbour is some miles in
extent, and has two entrances. The southernmost of
these is narrow but deep, while the northern one is
apparently a good channel for any ship. The navigation
inside is, I think, rather intricate ; extensive reefs pro-
jecting from the shore and occupying half the enclosed
space. I noticed no villages along the shores, but
numerous fishing stages had been erected on the reefs,
in different places.

The absence of any village is easily accounted for.
The natives of this group are pre-eminently treacherous
and bloodthirsty, and they dread their nearest neighbours
quite as much as they do strangers. Two or three vil-
lages could be made out in the distance, perched, like
crows' nests, on peaks high up among the mountains.

The trade-wind had now become very unsteady and
fitful ; not nice weather for this coast, where the anchor-
ages were few and small, while reefs and islets constantly
appeared when least expected. At Gau, a village
some miles beyond the harbour above-mentioned, I
engaged a man, who informed me that there were no

KING BERRY'S RAIDS. 225

inhabitants for a great distance along the coast, and, in
fact, very few at all on that side of Isabel I. However,
I placed little reliance at the time on what he said. Now
that I know that coast, which I did not then, I may safely
assert that, for a hundred miles, from Gau to Port
Praslin, there are not as many natives living near it.
Just a few small families reside at Estrella Bay, and that
is all.

East of Mt. Marescot I passed a bay, or lagoon,
with a barrier reef and two islets on its seaward side.
I should have sent my boats in, but my Gau man said
it would be of no use. He said that King Berry had
lately made a foray there, during which that truculent
savage had destroyed the villages on the islets,
slaughtered the whole of the inhabitants, and wound up
his victory with a great cannibal feast.

That evening I stood close in shore, seeking for an
anchorage. Finding none, I was obliged to put to sea
again. During the night I drifted to leeward, past
Estrella Bay, and next day coasted slowly along, with a
light south-easterly air. By evening again, I was in an
unpleasant position. The wind, light and puffy, was
coming from north-east, while a heavy roll was drifting
the ship in towards the land. About two miles to lee-
ward, there was a long sandy beach, and, between the
ship and it, were several patches of coral, over which the
sea was breaking. The beach swept round ahead of our
course, forming a large bay, protected on its northerly
side by a cluster of islets.

It being absolutely necessary to find an anchorage
before dark, I sent the mate ahead in the boat to take
soundings. There was a narrow but straight channel
between two of the islets, about a mile off on the lee bow.
To this we directed our attention, and, just as the sun
disappeared, succeeded in getting the ship safely anchored
there.

One important article of our outfit had been forgotten,

Q

226 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

when we left Maryborough. This was a bag of lime for
whitewashing the hold of the ship. So, as wind and
weather continued unaltered, and as the place appeared
to be devoid of inhabitants to disturb our peace, I allowed
the ship to remain where she was for the next two days.
During this time, the recruits and some of the crew were
sent ashore to collect loose coral blocks and burn them in
rough kilns. By this means sufficient lime was collected
to answer the purpose of whitewashing.

Meanwhile, the G.A. and I penetrated through the
channel in a north-westerly direction, until we came to
a long low wooded point on the main island. Between
it and the principal islet there was a narrow channel, with
four fathoms of water, opening into a large bay facing
north-west, with more islets and reefs on the seaward side.
On the south-eastern side of this was a point, close to an
islet, enclosing a snug little harbour with good anchorage.

We examined the beach in several places, but were
unable to discover any signs of man or beast, with the
exception of the ashes of an old camp fire, probably made
by some party of travellers or castaways.

At sunrise, on the third morning, the windlass was
manned, the cable hove short, and sail made. For
some time, the anchor refused to come home, being
hooked in the coral. At last, after a hearty strain at the
windlass, the vessel paid off under the weight of her
head canvas, while the pawls rattled cheerily. However,
when the anchor had been got up to the hawse-pipe, we
found that one of the flukes was gone, having been
broken short off at the crown.

Instead of beating out the same way I came in, I now
ran through the narrow channel, between the islets and
the point on the main, coasting along all the forenoon
without seeing a sign of any inhabitants. A barrier
reef was now discerned running along the coast. It lay
at a gradually increasing distance from the shore, as that
extended northward.

SEARCHING FOR PORT PRASLIN. 227

In the afternoon I ran the ship inside this reef, through
a channel between two small islets. I then stood in
towards the main, distant about a mile from the reef at
this point. I anchored in a deep inlet that was well
sheltered from wind and sea. Less than a mile beyond,
the lagoon within the reef was studded with islets and
surface-coral.

I anchored here, because I concluded we must have
got into the vicinity of Port Praslin, where there was a
native village. I was afraid I might run by without
observing it, the entrance being reported to be a rather
narrow one. Besides, I could see bananas and palm-
trees, certain indications of inhabitants.

Shortly after we had anchored, two canoes, containing
eight men, came alongside. One of these natives could
speak a little English. He told me that their village lay
not far off, on the main island ; and that it was the only
one then existing on this part of the coast.

In former years this end of Isabel I. was fairly popu-
lous. Then the people of Choiseul I., a larger and much
more powerful race than the Isabel tribes, made frequent
raids, killing and eating, or driving away nearly all the
inhabitants. Such as survived these onslaughts sought
refuge on the south-western coast, or in the interior.

The following morning, after breakfast, the mate and
G.A. went off in the boats. Shortly after their depar-
ture, I got under way, and, passing through the barrier
again, ran down the coast, to look for Port Praslin. I
failed to find the entrance to it, as described on the chart,
and, towards evening, found myself off the extremity of
the island. I then worked back to pick up my boats, but
could not see them ; so, being unable to make an anchor-
age, I passed the night at sea.

Next morning I re-entered the lagoon, anchoring
about two miles north-west of my last anchorage. I then
made " smokes " on the neighbouring islets, and fired guns
as signals, to apprise the boat party of our whereabouts.

228

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

On one of the islets in the outer reef, whereon I had
made a large fire on the ocean side, in case the missing
men should have gone out to look for the ship, the
recruits, who paddled my boat, found a native sepulchre.
Before I knew what they were about, two or three "old
hands "• - whose superstitions had been civilized away
—violated it, in order to obtain the shell and stone
armlets, and such other native treasures as it contained.

This erection was a receptacle for the bones of the
dead, after the flesh had disappeared from them in
ordinary graves. It was a square enclosure on the sur-
face of the ground, surrounded by a wall of loose coral

NATIVE SEPULCHRE— ISABEL I.

s^i^r^

~ t*»^.*-- -^. "• - ~

blocks. It measured about eight feet in length and
breadth, by five feet in height. It was completely filled
with human bones, above which a layer of stones had
been piled. Apparently it had not been disturbed for
years. Within it the number of skulls seemed to be
proportionate to the other bones ; while outside, on the
ground at the base of the wall, there were thirty or forty
more skulls, each of which had been broken or fissured,
as though from the blow of a club.

I made my boys rebuild the small portion of the wall
they had pulled down, leaving it pretty much as we found
it. I must admit, though, that several stone and shell

RETURN OF THE WANDERERS. 229

armlets found their way on board the ship. Some other
relics were also carried off. Among these there was a
piece of thick inferior glass, measuring about five inches
by four inches. It had probably been, at one time, part
of a mirror. There was also the large bowl of a tobacco
pipe, apparently of a Dutch kind.

During- the past night, and all that day, I had felt very
uneasy on account of the absence of the mate and G. A.
When the sun set, and no sign of their return was yet
evident, I began to be afraid they had fallen into the
hands of the savages. A lantern was lit and hung high
up in the rigging ; while every now and then, a rifle was
discharged. I had no larger gun, or I should have used
it. Not until eight in the evening were our minds
relieved. Then, a gun-shot was heard, in under the land,
and ten minutes later the wanderers were alongside, tired
and hungry.

They had not understood that it was my intention to
remove the ship to a fresh anchorage, but had expected
me to return to the old place, if I failed to discover Port
Praslin. Not finding us there, they had camped on a
small islet for the night. Then they had returned to the
village and bought some yams and other food. After
that they pulled outside the barrier-reef to sea, just too
late to sight us before we got inside again, and also to
see my signal fires. There was a canoe with them con-
taining four or five natives, who slept on board the
Stanley that night, and sold us a few yams and other
things.

Next morning the anchor was weighed, and, with three
recruits I had obtained here, I stood out from the land,
purposing to work back against the " trade " to Malayta
I. About a mile to windward of the opening in the
barrier reef, through which I issued from the lagoon, a
peculiar object was seen, floating, as if moored, just out-
side the breakers. What this was, we could not make
out. So, to solve the mystery, I made a tack to wind-

230

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

ward, stood in close, and then, leaving the ship hove to,
went off in the boat to it.

On coming up to it, we found the object consisted of a
couple of square wooden tanks, fastened together by two
twenty-inch baulks of timber, one on top, the other below.
These baulks were bound to the tanks and to each other
by iron bars, with nuts and screws. Each tank was ten
or eleven feet square, and about eight feet deep. They
had been constructed of four-inch pine, caulked and
pitched, but not metalled. There was a two-foot hatch
in each of them, fitted with a lid nailed down securely
over it. In the space between them, a huge chain cable,
composed of stud links branded WOOD, hung down from

A STRANGE DERELICT.

the upper baulk, to which one end of it was shackled,
the other end being held merely by a " round turn." The
bight of the chain, as it hung down far below, had caught
the coral, and held this strange derelict anchored about
twenty yards from the breakers. At one end of the
upper baulk were a few composition nails, with one of
copper, holding some remnants of cotton canvas. One
tank was dry and empty, the other contained only about
eight inches of water, which had apparently leaked into
it.

The crew of this craft consisted of an old booby, which
refused to budge, even when I climbed on to the tanks,
disputing possession vigorously with his sharp bill when
disturbed. I could never ascertain what this affair had

BLOCKADE OF THE FLORIDAS. 231

been designed for. It may have been part of a pontoon,
employed to support the outer end of a wharf over deep
water, and have Boated from one of the guano islands
near the equator.

After beating back to the south-east for a few days, I
dropped anchor in North Alite Bay, on the lee side
of Malayta I. There, one morning, I fell in with the
schooner Sea Breeze, Captain Williams, from Fiji.

At this time, H.M.SS. Cormorant and Renard were
blockading the Florida Is., and hunting after the mur-

o «^

derers of Lieutenant Bowers and his men. Captain
Williams, being unaware of their presence and intentions,
hove to there on the previous evening. After dark a
man-of-war's boat paid him a visit. The officer in com-
mand of her o^ave him orders to leave the Floridas, all

o

communication with the natives being forbidden until the
murderers should have been secured.

The result of this blockade was, that, after a lot of
time and trouble, one man was captured and hanged.
Another of the culprits was pardoned, on the intercession
of Bishop Selwyn, who considered he was too young to
comprehend the enormity of his crime, though old
enough to wield a tomahawk, and be considered a
warrior among his own people. As though the death
of only one of them was sufficient atonement for the
slaughter of six unoffending white men, or would deter the
savages. from committing fresh outrages in the future!
Little wonder, that, immediately after the execution, the
natives at Saaranna village should have said to my mate
— " Man-o'-war all the same old woman ! "

There was one bit of Captain Williams' news, how-
ever, that I deemed worthy of consideration. This was,
that, in ten days' time, it was the intention of the naval
force to go to Ugi I., in order to take in a supply of coal
that was awaiting them there.

From Alite Bay I worked down the coast of Malayta
I., but with little success. About half-way between Alite

232 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

and Maramasiki Passage, I found a safe land-locked
harbour called Fulafau. There, a chain of low, narrow
coral islets runs parallel to the coast. They are the
elevated top of a barrier-reef, which encloses a lagoon
some miles in extent, comprehending several bays on the
main island, and a few inner islets. I lost one of my
recruits by desertion there.

I left the ship one day with the G.A. and some of the
recruits, taking one of the boats. As the " boys " had not
yet learned how to use oars, they paddled us to the
southern end of the lagoon, where I visited another
vessel that was lying there. On our return we landed
on a low point of the main, to obtain young cocoanuts
from some trees there, to quench our thirst. As there
were no habitations near, and no natives were visible,
we helped ourselves. To get the young nuts, some of
the boys climbed up the trees and dropped the fruit
down.

When all were mustered for the resumption of our
cruise, one boy was missing — he whom I had recruited
on the Malayta side of the estuary, a month or so
previously. I did not see him again until I visited the
other side of the island, on my next voyage. His dodge
had been a very simple one. He had climbed a tree
whilst no one was taking notice of him, and hidden
amongst the branches. When searching for him, we never
thought of looking upward, or probably somebody would
have discovered him. He quietly watched our move-
ments until we had departed. Then he descended, going
back to his native village, next day, across the island,
a distance of twelve miles on a bee-line.

I went but little further down the coast, after leaving
Fulafau. I then crossed over to Guadalcanar I., where
I watered the ship at a stream about eight miles west of
Marau Sound, whence I proceeded to Langa.

Ten days had now elapsed since I spoke the Sea
Breeze, and the time mentioned by Captain Williams,

TOM TAMOAN RECOGNISED. 235

when the Cormorant was to go to Ugi I., had now
arrived. So, with a fair wind, I ran over to the Floridas
next morning, where I found a snug anchorage near the
south-western point of the southern island, not far from
the village of Saaranna.

There I lay undisturbed for two or three days, to the
advantage of my owner. I then spent a night in Port
Purvis, the western end of the narrow- channel which
separates the southern and middle islands of the Florida
group. Recruiting now went on gaily, probably owing
to the visit of the ships of war. My list soon began to
grow satisfactorily long.

Sandfly Passage was my next anchorage, between the
middle and northern of the Florida Is. There, poor
Tom Tamoan, who had almost given up all hopes of ever
seeing his long-lost home again, at last discovered where
his native island lay, although he was still some distance
from it.

The boats were at the beach on the northern island,
Gala, when a native, who had been gazing at Tom for
some time, suddenly accosted him in English, " Hullo,
Tom."

Tom stared, but failed to recognize him. Then the
Gala man told the recruiter how, years ago — probably
ten or twelve — the barque Woodlark, of Sydney, had
come to Gala ; how her captain had engaged and taken
away "plenty boy " to work on plantations in Queensland ;
how, on her return to that colony, she passed close to
Bellona, the smallest of the two Rennell Is., and how a
canoe came off to her with two men and a boy. I he
men returned to the island, but the boy, Tamoan, elected
to remain on board, and went to Queensland in the
Woodlark,

At last, then, Tom knew the white man's name for his
island. Nothing less would serve him than my getting
under way at once, to take him there. F"or the Gala
man had described the island as being close at hand.

236 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I was not disinclined to go there, either. During the
first morning of our stay at Gala, the three masts of a
ship of war, and the smoke from her funnel, had been
descried on the eastern horizon, going southward. It
was therefore possible that, at any moment, one of the
cruisers might arrive, to make trouble touching- my in-
fraction of the blockade. So, having my recruit list more
than two-thirds filled up, I weighed anchor and left the
Floridas. I made for Savo I., proceeding thence to the
coast of Guadalcanar I., on the west of Cape Esperance,
where I got three men.

Coasting along the western shores of Guadalcanar I.,
we spent a day at Boyd Creek, Wanderer Bay, taking in
water and firewood. This bay derives its name from the
yacht Wanderer, in which vessel the well-known old
Australian colonist, Benjamin Boyd, visited the place in
1851. Boyd was murdered by the natives there, while
on shore pigeon- shooting.

From Wanderer Bay, one "board" on the port tack
took the Stanley over to Bellona I., which Tom recog-
nized at once as his long-lost home. The native name
of this island, as given me by its inhabitants at the time
of my visit, was Muighi, though Tom pronounced it
Mungigi. The largest of the Rennell group is called
Muava.

Standing close in under the lee of the island, which is
hardly more than a mile in length, and about two hundred
feet in height, I sought for an anchorage without success,
the shores all round being " steep to." Off the eastern
end I neared the rocks in the boat, but the sea would not
allow us to land. Tom, however, was impatient, and,
seeing a party of his countrymen at hand watching us,
he stripped off his clothing and swam ashore through the
breakers. He landed on the rocks at the cost of a bruise
or two, then slowly climbed up to the outskirts of the dense
forest which covers the island. There a dozen natives
had gathered together, watching his every movement.

TOM FINDS HIS HOME AT LAST.

237

The noise of the waves breaking on the rocks pre-
vented our hearing any of the conversation, which, it was
evident, was passing between them. Presently one man
walked cautiously up to Tom, and felt him all over, as
though to ascertain if he was really flesh and blood, and
not a ghost. This examination having proved satisfactory,
the whole party clustered round Tom with loud cries and
laughter, and began handling him, jabbering and gesti-
culating like a lot of excited monkeys.

Next, a small light canoe was lugged down from
amongst the trees, and launched clean over the breakers,
off the top of a huge boulder. Two fellows took a

TOUCHING NOSES.

header, and so scrambled into her. They then came
alongside our boat, stripping off their rude beads and
other ornaments, and forcing them upon me, jabbering
away all the while like a couple of maniacs.

I then pulled back to the lee end of the island, in
search of a safe landing-place. There I managed to get
on shore dryshod, with the G.A. Then, accompanied by
about a score of the islanders, men and women, we
walked to a scattered village near the centre of the
island. Arrived there, we touched noses with the old
chief, a ceremony which is peculiar to islanders of the
true Polynesian race.

238 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

These people are apparently pure Polynesians. They
are large-framed, fleshy, with brown skins and frizzly
hair. Some of the women were very light in colour.
They practise tattooing to some extent. Their houses
are of the same pattern as those of the Equatorial islands
— a roof supported by posts, the sides being left open.

I remained on shore a few hours, but could do nothing
in the way of -recruiting. Tom seemed half-dazed — he
was always a little " daft "-—and was either unwilling
or too stupid to interpret. Towards evening, however,
he let me know that no recruits were to be obtained
at present. By-and-by, in the course of weeks, some
might be induced to engage.

I was much disappointed. Tom had assured me that
he would do all he could to assist me in return for my
taking him home. Now, I saw that, having got all he
wanted, he was indisposed to fulfil his promises. On a
subsequent visit, I discovered that Tom had really acted
in opposition to me, dissuading those of his countrymen
who wished to engage.

I remained near Muighi I. until late on the second day,
when I returned to the Solomons, weathering Guadal-
canal', and then steering for the east of the Floridas,
hoping that by this time the blockade would have been
raised.

It proved to be so. Off the south-eastern point of
these islands, I met a barque-rigged ship of war, steaming
southward. I supposed her to be the Cormorant on
her way back to Australia. Mightily pleased I was
when I saw her pass by without troubling me. I was
as fortunate on the eastern coast of the Floridas as I had
been on the western, rapidly filling up my recruit list.

Two miles from the eastern end of Sandfly Passage, I
found an extensive patch of sunken coral, in six to eight
fathoms of water. There I anchored, while the boats
worked the neighbouring coasts.

One forenoon the boats were at the beach near Ravu

KANAKA IDEAS OF JUSTICE.

239

village, Gala I. An inquisitive native, who had paddled
his canoe alongside the recruiting boat, took up one of
the boatmen's rifles, and accidentally discharged it. The
ball wounded two natives — one of them being a recruit
just engaged — though, fortunately, not seriously. The
wounded men were brought off to the ship, where I
washed and bound up their hurts, giving them some
spare bandages and ointment to take home with them.

When I visited this place again on my next voyage,
my patients' wounds were thoroughly healed. The chief
told us, however, that, had either of them died, he would
have taken some white man's life in revenge ; this because
the injury was inflicted by a white man's weapon, although

WAR CANOE — SOLOMON IS.

it had been fired by a native. This is a curious example
of the South Sea Islander's sense of justice.

When I left the Florida Is., there still wanted four
boys to make up my complement. These I succeeded
in getting at Fiu, on the lee side of Malay ta I., where I
also took in fresh water. I then sailed for Queensland
with eighty-eight recruits.

Such of the Solomon Is. as I visited on this voyage
seemed to be of similar formation to the New Hebrides.
They are mountainous and rugged, generally clothed
with dense forest and jungle from their highest peaks to
the water's edge. Here and there may be found patches
of country almost devoid of trees, covered with long
coarse grass. The natives are of purer Papuan blood

240 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

than many of the New Hebrideans ; excelling them in
bloodthirstiness, treachery, and cannibalism, as much as
they do in the construction and ornamentation of their
canoes, dwellings, and weapons.

Their canoes are gracefully shaped, and have no out-
riggers. They are built of planks, hewn with the toma-
hawk, " seized " together with cocoanut-fibre twine.
The seams are "payed " with a black cement, made from
a certain nut, dried and ground up very fine. The
larger canoes are generally much ornamented with shells
and mother-o'-pearl. They are often large enough to
carry sixty or eighty men.

Of dress they wear little, in some places none at all,
either men, women, or children.

Their supply of food is but little in excess of what
they absolutely require for themselves. This is not due
to the soil, which is luxuriantly fertile, but to their care-
lessness, as well as to the destruction resulting from their
constant intertribal wars.

I knew of only two Protestant mission-stations in
these islands at that time, in Savo I. and in the Ploridas,
though there may have been some others. In 1847,
French missionaries (Roman Catholic) attempted to
settle in the group, but were forced to leave, as much on
account of the unhealthiness of the climate as of the
hostility of the savages. That year, 1881, three priests
were murdered at Makira Harbour, San Christoval I.,
and Bishop Epalle was also killed in Isabel I.

Leaving Malayta behind me, I passed close to the
west end of San Christoval, and, making one tack to the
southward, brought the Stanley off Makira Harbour.
Thence, close-hauled, I weathered the Rennell Is. and
Indispensable Reef. Then, without touching a brace,
I made one long " board" to Hervey Bay, and anchored
oft' Woody I. on the twenty-third of July. I reached
Maryborough two days later.

A few weeks previously the May Queen had arrived

MA SSA CRE A T LEPERS ' /.

241

at Brisbane, bringing labourers from the New Hebrides.
She reported that her boats had been attacked by the
natives at Walwuki, Lepers' I. Her recruiter, Richard
McDonald, with eight boatmen, had been killed. Two
others, though wounded, swam off and escaped to the
vessel.

WEAPONS — SOLOMON IS.

CHAPTER XV.

EIGHTH VOYAGE OF THE STANLEY, 1 88 1.

/ sail from Hervey Bay — My G.A. — His hostility towards me —
The New Hebrides — Bellona I. — Tom Tamoan again — He
tries to prevent recruiting — But fails — My deserter comes on
board— He is let off — The Janet Stewart — Her subsequent
capture by natives — Missionary influence prejudicial to recruit-
ing — Saaranna — Natives attack the boats — Steering-oar
stolen and recovered — Mandolianna I. — More missionary
intolerance — Native agent killed at Gala I. — How a copra-
trader indemnified himself — The G.A. orders me home —
Hada Bay — Chief "Johnson" — A cyclone — Weathering the
storm — A rrival at Maryborough — / go to Brisbane — Inter-
view with the head of a department — A wigging and re-
fresJiments ! — Survivors of the Isabella — Fate of her people.

I LEFT Hervey Bay on my last voyage in the Stanley,
on the eighth of September, 1881. I was bound for
the New Hebrides and the Solomon Is. with a con-
siderable batch of " returns" on board. The G.A. who
had accompanied me on my previous voyage had been
re-appointed. During the former trip he had shown
himself a careful officer, and at the same time had been
a fairly pleasant companion. Now, his manner towards
me was changed from the very beginning. Towards
the termination of the trip, he appeared to seize every
opportunity of impeding the work of recruiting and of
otherwise annoying me.

The cause of our trouble at the outset was, possibly,
drink. As soon as we were clear of the land, however,
he got no more of that than a very moderate allowance.
The real reason for his determined hostility towards me

afterwards was best known to himself. He had paid a

242

TOM TAMO AN AGAIN. 243

visit to Brisbane, and to the chief Immigration Office
there, between our voyages. This somehow seemed to
have worked a great change in his disposition. The
upshot of it all will appear in due course.

I did not delay long in the New Hebrides, running
through the group as quickly as possible, landing my
returns. I then pushed on to the Solomons, for the
trade- wind season was now far advanced, and that of the
hurricanes was approaching.

At Bellona, or Muighi I., we found Tom Tamoan ap-
parently satisfied with his home, and unwilling to leave
it again. He came off to the ship with a crowd of his
people, in the recruiting boat and canoes ; but none of
them, he said, wished to be engaged. Somehow, when
Tom told me this, I fancied he was not telling me the
truth. The party had not been on board many minutes
before I became sure that such was the case.

Some of the younger men appeared to be much
excited, and presently a lot of squabbling went on
between them and Tom, who was evidently backed up
by two or three old fellows. Suddenly one of the boys
made a rush towards me, though Tom tried to stop him,
threw himself down on his knees, and clasped his arms
round my legs, jabbering away at a fine rate. Then I
saw what all the fuss was about.

" Tom, this boy wants to go with me ! "

Tom mumbled out something about the man being
cranky ; but that was only an excuse to get him back
on shore. Finally, he was obliged to give in, and to
acknowledge that some of them did want to go with
me.

I engaged five. Two were youths, but the other three
were big, strapping men, and, to look at, splendid
fellows for work. Nevertheless, they turned out "soft,"
proving of little use to their employers. One Papuan
would have been worth the lot of them.

At the Rennell Is., none of the natives could be

244 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

induced to leave home. At the estuary on the north-
eastern coast of Malayta I. a canoe came alongside the
ship, having two men in her, one of whom came up on
deck. He proved to be the same man who had deserted
me near Fulafau, on my preceding voyage. His dismay
may be imagined when he found himself among men
who, as he would think, would treat him as an enemy.
He had failed, for a wonder, to recognize the ship, or,
I suppose, he would hardly have ventured near us.

At that time it had not been made illegal to retake
a deserter. At first I was disposed to make this fellow
go with me, willy-nilly. However, the G.A. objected
to that, so my gentleman got nothing worse than a
hearty cursing, as he tumbled over the side into his canoe
and made off to the shore as fast as his paddle would
take him.

Off Sio Bay, on the north of the .island, I spoke and
boarded the Maryborough brig, Janet Stewart, Captain
Thomas, Mr. William Lochhead G.A. It was the last
time I saw the brig. In the following year she was
captured by the natives in the vicinity of Uru and Kwai,
being burnt while lying at anchor off Leili I., opposite
Kwai. Captain Thomas, with Lowry, the second mate,
was absent in the boats when the ship was taken. One
man, a seaman named Gustave Germanic, escaped by
concealing himself in the chain locker. A fire forward
was extinguished when the boats returned, but another
soon burst out aft, and destroyed the ship. Lochhead's
body was found in his easy-chair on deck, where he had
been killed, probably when asleep.

At the Floridas I did not have such good fortune as
on the last voyage. Missionary influence was too much
for me. At Saaranna a party of old men and chiefs
threatened to attack the boats if they did not leave the
beach. Several of the younger men were watching for
an opportunity to escape from home. Once, when a
recruit had been obtained and passed into the covering

MANDOLIANNA ISLAND. 245

boat, which lay off in deep water, where his friends could
not reach him, a rush was made at the recruiter. He
only escaped by quickly shoving his boat off, abandoning
his steering-oar, which had been seized by the natives,
in the effort to haul the boat up on the beach. A
quantity of calico and other " trade " was carried off by
the natives at the same time.

Having got the boy who had been recruited safely on
board the Stanley, the recruiter went back to the village
and succeeded in recovering his steering-oar without
payment. The stolen calico and other articles were

MANDOLIANNA I.

never seen again by us. When the recruiter threatened
to inform " the man-o'-war," if they were not returned,
the natives simply laughed and jeered at him.

" Man-o'-war all same old woman ! " said they.

I visited the island of Mandolianna next. There a
few runaways joined us, paddling over from the main
island to the islet during the night, their canoes having
been left on the beach for their friends to remove at
their leisure. The chiefs soon put a stop to this game.

246 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Near our anchorage we saw a white-painted wooden
slab, inscribed with the names of Lieutenant Bowers and
his five men, who lay buried beneath it.

On the north-eastern coast, especially at Mboli, the
native teachers, trained by the missionaries, made them-
selves very active in attendance on the boats. They
forcibly prevented men from leaving the island. Such
proceedings, when viewed by a tolerant mind, must ap-
pear very like slavery.

At Rarvu, luckily for us, we found that the two men
who had been wounded during my last voyage, were
now quite well again. However, the natives there were
much excited by another cause. They stated that about
a year before, a Sydney schooner, name unknown, had
left a native of Guadalcanar, provided with a quantity of
" trade," at the principal village on the northern coast of
Gala I., the scene of the Dancing Wave massacre in
1876. He was left there to purchase copra from the
natives, while the schooner returned to Sydney with the
cargo she then had on board. Some disturbance occur-
ring, the Guadalcanar man was slain, the " trade " in his
charge being appropriated by the Gala people as a
matter of course. It being utterly useless to seek re-
dress at the hands of those who are styled by officialism
" the proper authorities," the skipper, when he returned
from Sydney, determined to pay the natives off in their
own coin as far as he could.

Anchoring off the village, he kept on friendly terms
with the natives, pretending he was not annoyed in the
least by their transactions during his absence, and that
he did not want any equivalent for the " trade " they had
stolen. He persuaded the chief to fill up his vessel's
hold with copra, which was to be paid for in the lump
when the cargo had been completed. He got his cargo,
and then sailed away without paying for it ! They were
quits.

At the end of November I anchored off the Two

A VISIT TO HA DA BAY. 247

Sisters Is., native name Untur, on the coast of Malayta
I. While there, the G.A. served me with an official
letter, ordering me to take the ship home. The reason
assigned was that provisions were running short, and
little or no further supplies could be obtained from the
natives. The weather had become wet and squally,
which was unfavourable for recruiting work. There
seemed little prospect of its improvement, so I cannot
say I was sorry when I received the document, though I
was still in want of about a score of recruits to make up
my complement.

I had a northerly wind at the time, which carried me
to the western limit of San Christoval I., then backing

o

to south-east, a bad sign. Standing southward, I made
one tack, but a north-westerly current brought the vessel
nearly back to Point Achard. I bore up, therefore,
and ran to Hada Bay, where I anchored. There I
filled up my water-tanks, and, as I was running short of
beef, I purchased some pigs from the chief of a large
village a mile or two south of the bay. This chief,
who had been named " Johnson " by his white visitors,
was hanged, a few years subsequently, for the murder
of a white trader.

Putting to sea again, I stood southward with a light,
unsteady breeze from the east. By the sixth of Decem-
ber I had made the south-eastern end of Indispensable
Reef. The wind was easterly that day, varying a point
or two southward occasionally. The sky was dull and
grey, a sputter of rain falling now and then ; while the
barometer, though not alarmingly low, was unsteady.

My mate, an old hand in these latitudes, predicted a
hurricane or cyclone ; but I scouted the idea, for I con-
sidered the season was not yet sufficiently advanced for
these tempests. He was right, though.

Late in the afternoon a thick shower passed over. In
the middle of it, a whirlwind caught the ship forward,
starting the bowsprit, the gammoning of which gave

248 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

way. I secured it with the chain cables, which were
unshackled from the anchors for the purpose.

At nightfall the weather was wet and gloomy, the
wind coming from east-south-east, and freshening up.
The ship lay on the port tack, under her lower canvas.
The barometer stood at 2975, an(^ I considered we were
in for a " straight " gale only.

By eight o'clock I was undeceived. The glass fell
two-tenths in less than half an hour, and the wind flew
round to north, increasing fast. The mainsail was im-
mediately lowered, the helm being put up to wear the
ship round on the starboard tack. As this was being
done, while the ship was tearing away before the breeze,
there came a blinding flash of lightning. Then a terrific
squall caught the ship, ripping the topsail out of the
bolt-ropes.

The hurricane was now upon us, and bitterly did I
regret my mistake. Down came the head sails, but only
to be lost. As the ship lay to, still on the port tack,
everything forward was buried when she dipped to the
head sea, and it was impossible to stow the canvas.

Fortunately the fore- trysail was new and good. It
was immediately reefed, and set "balanced," and so
lasted through the night. Under it alone the vessel lay
to, lifting to the seas like a duck, with her starboard rail
under water, and her deck smothered in flying drift and
spray. The wind roared through the rigging meanwhile,
ripping off every bit of spread canvas except the trysail,
which stood like a board.

The boats on the davits suffered, of course. The lee
one went clean away very early. The port boat had her
gripes and tackles broken, but was held up by the cranes
and jammed against the davits all night. She was
secured when the hurricane was over, by which time the
raised ends of the cranes had chafed two great holes in
her bilge, rendering her unserviceable for some days,
until she was patched up.

/ GO TO BRISBANE. 249

The barometer fell very quickly after eight o'clock,
till it was down to 29*10. Then the indicator got
jammed, some water having oozed in and swollen the
dial plate, which was composed of some wretched paper-
like substance. After that it did not move again until
about three o'clock in the morning, rising when the wind
had hauled round to W.N.W.

By daylight the gale had moderated ; about seven there
was a final heavy squall, after which the wind lulled
rapidly. At nine, we were rolling about with a light
south-west breeze, the weather being fine and sunshiny.
The remainder of the passage was long and tedious.
It was not until the 24th that we came to our moorings
at Maryborough.

A few days after I resigned my command. I then
betook myself to Brisbane, there to try conclusions with
my G.A. He had made a report to the Government
about the voyage, and his official log contained matter
that demanded my attention. Of course, I was ignorant
of the precise contents of these documents ; but I was
not without friends, some of whom gave me warning of
what I had to expect. It was fortunate for me that I
took the course I did.

The only interview I had with the head of a depart-
ment with respect to the subject ended satisfactorily,
though at its commencement I found myself in " stormy
weather." Indeed, there appeared a great probability
I should be debarred from sailing again in the same
capacity.

Long extracts from the G.A.'s official log were read
out to me. Some of these recorded details of private
conversations which had passed between us, at times
when I had supposed we were on friendly terms to-
gether. 1 had indulged in comments on different
members of the Government, especially in regard to
those connected with the Immigration Department. To
judge by the extracts read, I had certainly hit some of

250 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

them pretty hard. Besides this, I was accused of sundry
petty offences against the G.A.'s " Instructions," though,
luckily, of none against the Polynesian Act.

After this recital, I got a long lecture on the enormity
of my offences, winding up with — " What you have done,
sir, was quite in accordance with the Act, but it don't
suit the Office, sir ! "

So, now, I found I was expected to obey, not merely
the Act, with its cartload of " Orders in Council,"
" Regulations," etc., etc., but also to pay heed to the
fads and fancies of heads of departments.

At last the lecture was over, and then / chipped in.
I did not say much, but what I did say was very much to
the point, I think. It seemed to be satisfactory, too, for
the big man became mollified. His official frown faded
away ; he smiled ; he took up his hat, and ten minutes
later we were in the " Sovereign " Hotel, washing down
any bitter feeling that might have arisen, with the usual
" Here's luck! " That was the end of the matter, but I
fancy 1 had a narrow escape from being " debarred."

On December 13, the May Queen, Captain Dickson,
Mr. Hoare G.A., arrived at Brisbane from the islands, via
Mackay. Her master reported that he had picked up
two wounded Fijians, a few miles north of Cape Lis-
burne, Espiritu Santo I. They were the survivors of a
boat's crew belonging to the Isabella, of Fiji. The
Mavis, of Fiji, happened to be at hand, so the crews of
the two vessels searched the coast in the vicinity of the
spot where the natives had attacked the Isabellas boat.
The head of Mr. Mayer, her G.A., was found, but no
trace of the body of Hampshire, the mate. Where the
Isabella was at this time, I cannot say.

The master of the Chance reported at Mackay on
January 9. He mentioned having encountered a hur-
ricane off Lepers' I., New Hebrides, on December 8.
This was most probably the same hurricane I had fallen
in with on the night of the sixth.

CHAPTER XVI.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE JABBERWOCK, 1 88 2.

The Jabberwock as a barquentine — We sail from Brisbane — The
Borough Belle in company — Arrival at Tanna I. — The
Chance — Loss of her boat and its crew — Their subsequent
fate — I part with my consort — Rodd's anchorage — A French
recruiting- ship — Complaints of the natives — Kidnapping and
shooting — A chief's wife carried off — / follow the French
boat — And warn the natives — Recrimination — Visit to the
French skipper — " Pistols and coffee ! " — Mutual threats —
Trial at Noumea — Kidnapping dodges — The Borough Belle
has luck — Santa Maria I. — Natives in ambush — Our boats
fired at — The Torres Is. — More firing — Lo I. — Fugitives
rescued — Murder of M. Classen — Wounded with poisoned
arrows — Remedies tried — Death — French injustice to me —
Hayter Bay, Torga I. — The G.A.'s bag — Runaway women —
The G.A. jumped upon — Hiu I. — Lakon — Homeward.

THE Jabberwock had continued in the labour trade as a
sailing vessel only — since I resigned the command of her
in 1880 — but her rig had remained unaltered. In
January, 1882, she was sold by her Brisbane owners to
a Mackay firm, Messrs. Paxton & Co., by whom I was
again given the command of her.

She was lying at Peter's Slip, Brisbane, undergoing a
thorough overhauling, as well as an alteration of her
masts and cabins, which had not been quite completed
when I took charge of her, towards the end of February.
She was now masted forward in the usual manner, with
top-gallant and royal, while her mizzen-mast had also
been lengthened.

I sailed early in March, clearing Cape Moreton in
company with the Borough Belle, which was also owned

252 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

by Messrs. Paxton & Co., both of us bound for the New
Hebrides. While she was an auxiliary screw steamer,
the Jabberwock had enjoyed a reputation for speed,
which she certainly did not act up to now. For the
Borough Belle> which was considered anything but a
clipper, gradually drew ahead, slightly weathering on us
as we stood eastward, close-hauled, with a southerly
breeze. On the morning of the tenth I went aloft and
looked in vain for my consort ; she was quite out of
sight.

Notwithstanding the disparity in sailing qualities of
the two vessels, Captain Belbin reached the New He-
brides only a few hours before me. On the sixteenth
we were together again, off Emolau Point, Tanna I.,
where we also fell in with the brigantine Helena, Captain
McQuaker, at anchor off Sangali, and the iron schooner
Chance, Captain McPhie, both from Queensland, re-
cruiting. I boarded the Borough Belle, meeting Captain
McPhie and his G.A., Mr. Stiddulph, who were in great
tribulation about one of the boats of the Chance, which,
with its crew, was missing.

On the morning of the previous day the two boats
had left the Chance, pulling along the southern coast of
Tanna to try for recruits. They expected the schooner
would follow them, as the wind was then very light.
When near the land, and at a considerable distance
apart, thick weather came on. From that time, Stid-
dulph, who was in one of the boats, had not seen the
other again. He had only just rejoined the Chance,
having passed the night on board the Helena, at
Sangali.

As there was every probability that the missing boat and
its crew would be found, either at Gomara, on the south-
eastern coast, or in Port Resolution — at each of which
places there was a mission station — we advised Captain
McPhie to beat round the southern coast and visit them.
If he had done so, he would have recovered his boat, as

A STRANGE SAIL. 253

it turned out ; for Wilson, the mate who was in charge
of her, had made for Port Resolution. He was found
there by the French ketch, the Port Vila, and was
taken in her to Noumea ; whence he found his way
back to Queensland.

As neither Captain Belbin nor myself found anything
particular to delay us, there being already too many
vessels to work Tanna without interfering with each
other, we both pushed on. We had a neck-and-neck
race as far as Havannah Harbour. There the Chance
rejoined us next day, not having visited either Gomara or
Port Resolution, and so being still minus a boat and its
crew. How McPhie got on without them, I cannot say,
for I sailed again shortly. I then parted company with
the Borough Belle, which went due north, whilst I de-
layed to work the Shepherd Is.

The " trades " had. now set in steadily. Throughout
the whole of this cruise in the New Hebrides, we daily
enjoyed a moderate or fresh breeze from about east by
south, with fine weather generally, and only an occa-
sional shower. I worked the Shepherd Is., Api I., and
Ambrym I., without anything special occurring, until I
brought up one evening in Rodd's anchorage, on the
western side of the northern point of Ambrym I.

The following morning there was a cry of " sail ho ! "
and we discerned the masts of a brigantine or schooner
off the coast of Pentecost. She remained in sight for an
hour or two, and then disappeared to northward. My
boats were then away alongshore. When they returned,
some natives came off with them on a visit to the ship
—a common practice — to satisfy themselves as to our
destination.

These visitors complained loudly of the conduct of a
schooner, that they said was either French or Fijian,
which had been there a day or two before our visit.
A canoe had gone off to this ship, but had been fired at,
one man being killed. Two other boys had been taken

254 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

away, as well as some pigs that were in the canoe. They
gave me the names of these kidnapped men, which I do
not now remember. The next occasion on which I
visited Pentecost I., I met some natives who had recog-
nized them on board a French schooner — the same one
we saw that morning.

After this I crossed over to Pentecost I., working down
the lee coast of it. There, the inhabitants of South-West
Bay had also a story to tell about the vessel we had
seen.

She was a French schooner, the Havannah, of
Noumea, and had been formerly named the John S.
Lane, when owned in Sydney. She was commanded by
Captain Petersen, and was recruiting labourers for the
French colony of New Caledonia.

Petersen appears to have followed the usual practice
of French recruiters — sending his boats to the shore in
charge of Kanakas only. The consequences of such a
system may be imagined.

I anchored in Chaffin's Bay, on the northern coast of
Lepers' I., a few days later. There I fell in with the
Havannah, which was lying at anchor. She remained
only two or three hours after the arrival of the J abber-
wock.

The natives received my recruiter in a friendly man-
ner ; though they had mustered at the landing in force,
armed, and bent on a fight if the Havannatis boats came
near. That morning, before our arrival, the young wife
of a chief had been beguiled on board the Frenchman,
on some pretence or other, and was still there. Some
men had gone off to the vessel in a canoe, three of them
venturing aboard of her, bearing an offer from the
bereaved chief of two male recruits, if Petersen would
send his wife back to him. This the French skipper re-
fused to do ; and, moreover, he detained the unfortunate
ambassadors as well, letting their canoe drift back to
the shore empty !

/ FOLLOW THE FRENCH BOAT. 255

Shortly before sundown, I saw these three men jump
overboard, and swim to the land. Immediately after
that the Havannah got under way, and left. She was
still in sight next morning, however, when I moved the
Jabberwock a short distance westward, and again an-
chored.

The day following, as I noticed the Havannah was
still close at hand, her boat being at the shore, I took
charge of my own boats in place of the recruiter, and,
accompanied by the G.A., pulled ashore to the spot
where the French boat was lying. The coast was a
rocky and precipitous one, so the Havannatis boat had
pulled into a small nook among the rocks. We backed
in upon her until my boat's stern nearly touched her
bows. Then we lay on our oars and " took stock."

The French boat's crew consisted of four Kanakas,
the steersman in charge being a big Tanna man. All
were armed with guns, the Tanna man carrying a re-
volver in his belt. There was no white man in the boat,
or near it. Three young women were sitting or standing
on the rocks, close at hand. The Tanna man was
making signs to them, and, with the assistance of an
Aoba boy, one of his crew, seemed to be trying to per-
suade them to get into his boat.

As it happened, I had an Aoba man with me also,
whom I had brought with me to interpret. He told me
that his countryman was endeavouring to persuade the
women to "come and see ship"-— merely to visit her.
Of course, if they went on board, they would land in
New Caledonia before they reached home again ! More-
over, if they were once in the ship, they might serve as
a bait for some of the men.

This is, or used to be, a common trick practised by
the French recruiters. " Get the women on board, and
the men will follow ! " was their motto. The Frenchman
who told me of it expressed himself in coarser terms
than I have used.

256 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

A few words from my interpreter sent the women
flying up the rocks to a safe distance. From that point
of advantage they poured out a torrent of chaff upon the
French boatmen, accompanied by several expressive
gestures, one of which was certainly an imported one,
being what is commonly known among sailors as "taking
a lunar." Just then the Havannah displayed a red flag,
and her boat pulled away to her. The Tanna man
swore he would have his revenge upon me, if ever he
got a fair chance, which I responded to by threatening
I would let him feel the weight of my boat's tiller, if ever
I caught him at any of his kidnapping tricks again.

As the Havannah lay near our course, when we were
returning to the Jabberwock, we went alongside and
boarded her. Our visit was a short one, however.
Petersen said I had interfered unwarrantably with his
boat, and threatened to lay a complaint before the British
Government, through Mr. Layard, our consul at
Noumea. In return, I promised to write to the consul
and give him my version of the matter, as well as to
inform him of all I had heard from the natives about
the proceedings of the Havannah. As for our G.A.
and the French Government officer, they got to high
words — in French, — and I heard threats pass between
them relating to " pistols and coffee." My G.A. had a
temper as hot as my own, although we got along together
well enough on the whole.

Captain Petersen fulfilled his promises, and so did I.
He made his complaint, though I heard nothing further
about it ; and I wrote to Mr. Layard. My letter arrived
in Noumea at a time when there was some stir there,
touching the trial of the well-known skipper of a French
recruiting vessel, who was accused of kidnapping. I
have heard that it occasioned a serious quarrel between
the governor of the colony and our consul, — but that is
hearsay.

About the trial, I may as well mention that two of the

KIDNAPPING DODGES. 257

charges were — one of having run down a canoe in the
New Hebrides, some of the crew of which were drowned,
whilst others were picked up and kidnapped ; and the
other of entrapping men in the Maskelyne Is. In the
latter case, the skipper had pretended he wanted to move
a large and heavy tank in the hold of his vessel — the
said tank being, all the while, securely fastened to the
lower deck. It was too dark down in the hold for
strangers to perceive this. Having made a long stout
rope fast round the tank, he got a lot of natives from the
shore to pull on it ; and, while they were thus engaged,
he clapped his hatches on and left the island. I got
this from a Noumea trader, who was present at the trial,
and I see no reason for disbelieving the story.

Shortly after my meeting with the Havannah^ I fell
in with the Borough Belle. She was full up, and home-
ward bound, while I had only sixty-two recruits as yet.
Captain Belbin had made a good haul at the Torres Is.,
which we generally considered hardly worth visiting.
He strongly advised me to go there ; but, when I came
to consider the number he had taken away, I was afraid
there would not be many left for me to recruit. How-
ever, I went in that direction, working the east coasts of
Espiritu Santo and Santa Maria Is.

One morning I was off the south side of Santa Maria,
and sent the boats away. Among my hands forward
there was one gentleman who was new to the trade.
He had constantly expressed a supreme contempt for
all " niggers," as well as for their firearms, spears, and
arrows. On this occasion he volunteered to steer the
covering boat.

I watched them pulling in to the land, until I saw
them enter a bay and disappear behind one of the
points. The ship was then standing eastward, along the
coast, under easy canvas. Suddenly I heard the faint
pop ! pop ! of firearms. Then wreaths of white smoke
rose above the point. A minute later the boats came

s

258

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

in sight, the crews lying back with a will ; for the bullets
continued to fly round them pretty thickly, until they
were out of range. They were soon alongside, without
a man hurt.

" My word ! We got it hot ! " said the mate, laugh-
ing, as he jumped off the rail on to the deck. " There
were a hundred of them, if there was a man." But the
steersman of the covering boat said not a word. His
" baptism of fire " had caused all the blood to desert
his cheeks. He went into the forecastle quietly ; and
from that time, henceforth, he neither volunteered to
steer a boat, nor "gassed " about " niggers."

"WHAT FOR YOU 'FRAID?"

An ambuscade had been regularly planned. When
the mate drew near the shore at the head of the little
bay, he felt suspicious of a trap ; for he could see a
few men lurking behind the rocks, as though waiting
for him. One fellow, who wore a white shirt, showed
himself openly. Waving a green bough in pretence of
amity, this fellow sung out to the mate, who was hesi-
tating about going close in — "What for you 'fraid ? ''

Still the mate declined to go in. The boats were
being slewed about, so as to pull to a safer place, when,
bang ! went a whole volley, the bullets tearing up the
water, hissing and pinging all round them.

" Pull ! you devils ! " was the cry ; and back they went

THE SHIP FIRED AT. 2$$

in a hurry, whilst the natives kept popping at them
from both sides of the bay, luckily without hitting either
boat or man.

Both before and after this attack the boats of several
other vessels were fired on by the same fellows. In
some cases there was actual loss of life on the side of
the boats, whilst the natives came off scot-free.

After watering at Lakon, I went to the Torres Is.,
as Captain Belbin had advised me, anchoring at first in
the bay on the western side of the southern island.

Our arrival caused considerable excitement ; for, as we
afterwards ascertained, a number of the younger inhabi-
tants— men and women — had been prevented from join-
ing the Borough Belle by their elders and chiefs. These
were now determined to get away. Several of them
managed to elude the vigilance of their friends, and got
on board. Some of them came off in our boats, others
in canoes, a few by swimming off to the ship. This,
naturally, made the stay-at-home folks very wrathy. On
the second morning, when I was getting under way, we
received a volley from the cliffs. The bullets fell short,
luckily, but sufficiently near the ship to send my recruits
running from the windlass down below.

There was no harm done, however, and, with a con-
siderably increased recruit list, I ran over to Lo, the next
island. There I anchored in a well-sheltered bay on the
western side, in ten fathoms.

While we were crossing the channel between these
two islands, a sail was sighted to eastward. It was ap-
parently a boat, or some other very small vessel. Shortly
after we anchored, a cutter- rigged boat, flying the French
tricolour, appeared entering the bay, making for the
Jabberwock.

A party of natives, who were engaged in cutting fire-
wood for the Southern Cross mission steamer — so the)'
had told me — caught sight of the tricolour, and forthwith
let fly a couple of shots at the boat, but without hitting her.

260 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Three men were in this boat. They ran her alongside
the Jabberwock, and, having made her fast, climbed up
the side with a little assistance ; for they seemed to be
terribly weak from exposure and thirst, and one of them
from wounds. Their leader and spokesman was an East
Indian from Pondicherry. He was able to make himself
understood in both English and French. The others
were natives of New Caledonia. This was their story.

A naturalized French subject, Classen by name, had
landed in the Santa Cruz Is. from a French schooner, a
month or two before this. His intention had been to
form a station principally for collecting and curing beche-
de-mer. These three men, together with a native of
Sandwich I., had accompanied Classen.

Their houses had soon been built, with the help of the
natives. Their work was in full swing when, one day,
about a week before this, Classen and the Sandwich
Islander were beguiled from the station to the top of a
hill at some little distance from it, on pretence of looking
at a distant sail. There they were tomahawked to
death.

The station was then attacked by the natives. Our
refugees, however, had managed to escape in Classen's
boat, with sufficient food to last them for a fortnight, but
without any water. As they were getting off, one of
the New Caledonians was wounded with poisoned
arrows.

I examined the wounds of this poor fellow, who was
now very weak and depressed. I found two small circu-
lar wounds in his ribs on the right side, in a line with
the heart. The Indian told me he was certain that, when
the arrows were withdrawn, the heads had been got out
entirely. Still, it was evident that the poison was work-
ing in the man's system, for every now and then his
limbs gave a spasmodic jerk. The next day his entire
body was affected, not being still for five minutes at a
time.

RECRUITING AT TORGA I. 261

Our treatment consisted of poultices, applied to the
wounds to draw out any foreign matter that might have
remained in them. We injected ammonia, and also gave
him doses of it. Beyond these measures we could do
nothing. He died during the second night after their
arrival.

I took the two survivors to Maryborough, along with
their boat. There I communicated with the French
Consul in Brisbane about them. He sold the boat, and
sent the East Indian back to Noumea. The New Cale-
donian went into service, and remained in Queensland, I
believe. All I got for my trouble was a blackguarding
from the New Caledonian paper, in which it was asserted
that attempts had been made to "enslave " these men in
Queensland.

Having mustered up a few more recruits at Lo I.,
I next anchored in Hayter Bay, on the western coast of
Torga, or Middle I. There, as at the southern island,
we found that a number of the younger people had
either been prevented from joining the Borough Belle, or
had changed their minds since. So recruiting went on
merrily.

Some of the recruits who had gone in the Borough
Belle were married men, and they had left their wives
behind them. Certain of these women now entertained
the idea of going away after their husbands, knowing
that we were bound for the same destination.

One forenoon, the boats were alongside the ship, await-
ing the arrival of some recruits who had promised to
come down from the village inland.

Now, the mate in one boat, and the G.A. in the other,
were wont to make a race of it when pulling to or from
the ship, the boats' crews being just as eager to beat each
other as their officers, and betting sticks of tobacco on
the results.

" Smoke oh ! " sung out some one, perceiving a thin
white cloud rising up from the rocks at the head of the

202

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

bay. Over the side went the boys at once, the mate
with them. But the G.A. delayed, calling to one boy
to put his rifle in the boat, to another for a pannikin, and
to a third for his wallet. The last article he was seldom
seen without. In it he carried a miscellaneous collection
of articles: pipes, tobacco, pocket-handkerchief, note-book,
and so forth. In Brisbane he had been nicknamed Judas
Iscariot, because he always " carried the bag."

The mate had got a hundred yards away before the
G.A. started ; so the latter lost this race. But, though
beaten so far, he did not mean to be behindhand in obtain-

WOMEN BOLTING.

ing recruits. No sooner was he off, than he caught a
glimpse of five figures, waving branches in their hands,
and rushing out from the bushes and trees on to the
open terrace of upraised coral rock which fringes this
part of the bay. A sweep or two of the steering-oar
turned his boat's head in their direction, and quickly
brought him close to the feet of five young women.
They were " bolters," whose husbands had gone away
in the Borough Belle. They waited for no preliminary
conversation, but just sprang headlong off the rock into
the boat, alighting in a heap on top of the G.A., who
was crushed down under them into the bottom of the

THE G.A. JUMPED UPON. 263

boat, with nearly all the breath knocked out of his body.
He had scarcely recovered his equanimity when he ar-
rived on board, five minutes later, the fair dames who
had robbed him of it laughing and dancing with glee at
having outwitted their chiefs. For, it seems that these
had appropriated the deserted wives, after the departure
of their respective husbands.

At Hiu, the northernmost of the Torres Is., I filled up
my complement — a total of one hundred and one men
and thirty- two women. I might have obtained more
easily enough, if my licence had allowed me to carry
them.

Two or three tacks from thence brought tiiejabder-
wock back to Lakon. There I filled up my water- tanks,
and then started for home. I passed to leeward of the
Bond and d'Entrecasteaux Reefs, on the north of New
Caledonia, then the Bampton Reefs, and so through the
Coral Sea, encountering a heavy gale and thick weather
on the way. Inside the Great Barrier Reef I met the
Borough Belle, outward bound again. I arrived off the
mouth of the Pioneer River, on which stands Mackay, on
the night of June 26.

CHAPTER XVII.

FIRST VOYAGE OF THE FANNY, 1882-3.

I resign command of tJie Jabber wock — And go to Melbourne —
The Fanny — The Queensland recruiting fleet — List of casu-
alties— Murders — Accusations of missionaries — Mr. Patons
charges — H.M.S. Espiegle sent to investigate — Captain
Bridge's report — A rticle in " The Brisbane Courier " — A
reverend misleader — The Roderick Dhu case — The missionary
view and that of tJte labour-recruiter — Freedom or slavery ? —
Unfounded accusations — The Rev. Shirley Baker — " Sweat-
ing" in the South Seas — Mis-statements as to depopulation
— Good result of the labour trade — My experience of mission-
aries— My new G.A. — / solicit another appointment — Bris-
bane to Mackay — Sail for New Hebrides — Hervey Bay —
At Mallicolo I. — An earthquake — The island flooded — Effects
on shore — Upheaval of coral — Subsidence — Shock aftershock
— Position of the ship — Return of the boats — Stranded fish —
Homeward — The French New Hebrides Company — Scheme
of the French Government — Result of Exeter Hall short-
sightedness— Cingalese labourers.

A FEW days after my arrival at Mackay, I resigned the
command of the Jabberwock, in accordance with a pro-
mise, given long before, to some very old friends of mine.
I then went to Melbourne, where I took charge of the
Fanny, a brigantine which had been purchased by Messrs.
Rawson and Co., of Mackay. In this vessel I sailed for
Brisbane in August. On arriving there, I laid her up at
D. L. Brown's wharf, to be fitted out for the Polynesian
labour trade.

During the seven years in which I had now been con-
nected with this trade, the fleet of vessels employed in

it which were sailing out of Queensland ports, had gradu-

264

LIST OF CASUALTIES. 265

ally increased to the number of thirty or thereabouts.
Just previous to the time I sailed in the Fanny, this re-
cruiting fleet had sustained some diminution in conse-
quence of wrecks. The Lady Bel-more, brig, Captain
White, had been driven ashore at Mackay by an easterly
gale, on March 8, and had afterwards broken up. The
schooner, Leslie, Captain Turner, had been wrecked at
Aneiteum I. on April 26. The Magnet, schooner, was
lost at Tanna I., having drifted ashore during a calm, on
May 1 7. The lo, schooner, Captain McPhie, had struck
on a coral reef, one night, just outside the Great Barrier,
and had foundered in about ten minutes. The iron
schooner Chance, formerly a yacht, and the smallest
vessel in the trade, had been wrecked in August at
Tongoa I. in the New Hebrides.

The crew of the last-mentioned vessel, having narrowly
escaped massacre by the natives, were brought to Queens-
land by the Stanley. This vessel also had a prisoner
on board, named George Lewis, who had been a seaman
in the Jabberwock. Attempting to desert his ship in
the New Hebrides, this man had shot dead the second
mate, Henry Shaw. The murder had been committed
on the eighteenth of August About the same time
more bloodshed occurred on the coast of Espiritu Santo,
where three Frenchmen, belonging to the Port Vila,
ketch, of New Caledonia, were killed on shore by the
natives ; the master and two others only escaping by
swimming off to their vessel.

Several masters of vessels that had lately arrived in
port, gave notice of attacks on their boats at different
islands. But murder and shipwreck were not the only
dangers we had to contend against. Some of the
missionaries located in the New Hebrides seemed to
think that imprisonment, or even hanging, would be
hardly sufficient punishment for the "slave traffickers," as
they were accustomed to term us. One man in particular,
my old acquaintance of Aniwa I., apparently made it his

266 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

especial business to trump up all sorts of false charges
against the labour trade, as well as to exaggerate any
petty misdemeanours that came under his notice.

While fitting out the Fanny, I received a message one
day requesting rny attendance at the Immigration Office.
There I had read to me portions of a letter written by
this person, addressed either to the Government of
Queensland generally, or to the leader of the Opposition.
In this document I was accused of having forcibly kid-
napped women from the island of Tanna. The writer of
it wound up his thrilling narrative by saying that the
captain and Government agent afterwards came to his
house, and there, in the presence of his wife and himself,
boasted of their exploits.

The reader already knows what had really occurred
on those occasions. In the official letter I was required
to write to the Government, I stated the real facts of
the case.

In consequence of this, and of other accusations made by
this "preacher of the truth," in a letter to "The Melbourne
Argus" for December, 1881, Captain Bridge, commanding
H.M.S. Espiegle, was instructed to investigate the matter.
The result of his inquiries was incorporated in an article
which appeared in the leading paper in Brisbane — " The
Courier " — after Captain Bridge had made his report.

The article says : —

" The Rev. Mr. Paton is a gentleman whose name is well known in
this colony as one of the chief accusers of those engaged in the
Polynesian trade. His connection with the South Sea missions has
given weight to his false and reckless assertions, and there are many
who have been led by him to believe that open and violent man-stealing
is still practised by labour vessels, sailing from Queensland and else-
where. Fortunately, Mr. Paton has been thoroughly exposed in the
course of a controversy, in which he was foolish enough to engage in
the columns of ' The Melbourne Argus,' a journal which for many years
has printed his statements and relied on their accuracy. That journal,
having found their reverend mis-leader out, has recently called attention
to the proof that exists of his want of veracity. In December, 1881,
Mr. Paton published a long letter in the 'Argus,' which contained charges

A MISSIONARY'S ALLEGATIONS. 267

so grave, that Captain Bridge, of H.M.S. Espiegle, was instructed by
Sir Arthur Gordon to investigate them. Three of the principal charges,
together with the official report on them, are printed in the 'Argus,' and
we reproduce them here.

" The first refers to the island of Erromanga : —

" Mr. Paton's charge : —

' That a Queensland vessel, with a Government agent on board, sent
two boats on shore ; that the men called out to a little boy to come to
them ; that the boy's father held the lad's arm and prevented him ; and
that the crews then opened fire and killed the natives."

This is the official report of Captain Bridge : —

" That these men wished to join a labour vessel, but were prevented
by the other natives; that on one of them attempting to reach a boat, the
natives opened fire and struck the inner boat, whereupon the covering
boat fired on the natives."

Mr. Paton's second charge was : —

" A labour vessel decoyed a Christian native teacher on board.
Word was sent to the young men and boys of the school that their
teacher wanted to see them. So soon as 100 were collected, the vessel
sailed away."

This is the official report : —

" A native teacher left by a labour vessel, but he went voluntarily.
He was not decoyed. Word was not sent to collect the scholars. None
were entrapped. There was no such kidnapping incident."

The third incident Mr. Paton said occurred at Tanna I. : —

" Two tribes that were fighting placed their women and children on
a reef. A labour vessel stole in, got the women and children into the
boats and sailed away, despite the firing of the men and the pleading of
the women."

The official report says : —

" The Revs. Watt and Neilson have been long on Tanna I., and
both say that they never heard of any such thing occurring on that
island"

The article goes on to say : —

"These charges and their refutation are published in the 'Argus' now,
because the reverend gentleman is again on the war path, and claiming,
by virtue of his sacred office, belief in his statements. One Melbourne
contemporary says of him that he 'appears to combine enthusiasm in
a good cause with a perfect genius for scandal-mongering and the
imputation of bad motives.' To most of our readers this will appear
rather mild censure on an individual who, though a minister of the
gospel, persists in spreading calumnies of which the falsehood has been
demonstrated."

268 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Here we have samples of the frequent missionary
reports of so-called outrages by whites on natives of
the South Seas, with the usual result when the Govern-
ment takes the trouble of investigating them.

But sometimes the writer confined himself to the truth
—a trifle coloured. Some years after this, Mr. Paton
addressed a letter to Sir Samuel Griffiths, then leader of
the Opposition in the Queensland Legislative Assembly,
a portion of which I may quote here. It was dated, at
Tanna, loth July, 1889 : —

" On Sabbath, the 301)1 June, two boats of a vessel, which the agent
said was the Roderick D/iu, from Brisbane, called here about 2 p.m., on
returning from spending the forenoon trading farther round the island.
When the men in the boat were talking to the natives, the agent (an old
man) came and informed the Rev. \Ym. Watt, the resident missionary
at Kwamera, that ' The boats were not come in to recruit labour, but
to let one of the crew see his sister, a Tanna woman.' He returned to
the boats, and we saw both boats leaving without any additional
labourers. We were then about to enter the church to observe the
Lord's Supper. The agent's voluntary statement that they were not
come for recruits, threw the natives off their guard, and after the com-
munion, as we left the church, all were in sorrow, as four lads had been
got to go round a point beyond the rocks, where they could not be seen
by their friends, and to swim off to the boats in which that agent was,
and took them away. The friends of the lads were angry, and the
missionary was indeed grieved to have his scholars so taken away, and
his work frustrated, as it has often been by the deceiving traffickers."

Now this statement is certainly " somewhat coloured"
— some persons would say it contained a lie — in the
words "were got to go." I happen to know the facts of
this case. The four boys wished to go away in some
ship — the Roderick Dhu or any other — to Queensland, but
knew that, if they made their wish public, their friends —
and the missionary through them — would prevent them
leaving. So they stole away quietly, apart from the
crowd, and, as soon as their friends had gone back from
the beach, swam off after the boats, which were then
pulling away. The recruiter, seeing them following, put
back and picked them up.

BOTH SIDES OF THE QUESTION. 269

These boys were free agents — not the slaves or ser-
vants— of the missionary and the chief. They had as
much right to emigrate from their home as a European
labourer has to leave his. They knew equally well —
perhaps better — what sort of a life they were about to
experience. They were not even asked to go, but they
had heard of Queensland from their returned country-
men ; the justice and better treatment of labourers there
than that they received from missionaries and chiefs ; the
better payment for services rendered ; the security of life
there. To gain these advantages they took the chances
of sharks and drowning, and forsook sloth, dirt, and a
religion their intellectual faculties are not yet sufficiently
developed to entertain, for wealth, comparative freedom,
and civilization.

Nor were they forsaking religion either, when they
" took a header " off the rocks. The Kanaka schools in
Queensland are as numerous, in proportion to numbers,
as are the mission schools in the islands. They do quite
as much good for the boys, and, along with " the three
R's," impart quite as much religion as Kanakas can
understand.

In the same letter, a little further on, Mr. Paton
wrote : —

" Were such boats from such vessels seen returning to Brisbane to
try by hook and crook to get away your few remaining sons and
daughters, surely every man possessing paternal, fraternal, and human
feelings would unite and drive the destroyers of your children from
your shores, and the world would praise you for it."

This is high colouring with a vengeance ! Why " few
remaining"? The phrase creates a false impression,
which a truthful man would avoid. One would imagine
that labour vessels had been in the habit of visiting this

o

place, Gomara, or " Kwamera," as he called it, and sail-
ing away with " sons and daughters " wholesale. Such
a statement could not be true, for mission stations are
generally avoided by the recruiter, owing to the difficulty

270 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

there is in getting boys away, however willing to go they
may be.

The colony of Queensland sends agents to England
to lecture about it, and to dilate on the advantages to be
derived by Englishmen who will emigrate to the other
side of the world, where the conditions of life are easier,
and where even wealth may be attained to. Do they
hesitate to separate even a " few remaining " sons and
daughters from their parents ? Do they take into account
the grief of the latter when they lose their children ?
Do they care when they select the healthy and strong,
depriving the parents of their support in old age, and
leaving only the weak and sickly behind ?

We must look to the benefit of the masses, notwith-
standing that individuals may undergo hardship to some
extent. There can be no doubt that the South Sea
Islanders derive benefit, both morally and physically, from
being transported into the midst of a civilized community,
where they are taught to labour steadily. And do they
not appreciate the change ? How is it that so many
return to Queensland for a second and often for a third
term of service ? How is it that so many remained in
the colony, prior to the passing of that Polynesian Act
which compelled them to return home, either at the
termination of their first engagement, or of a second, if
they chose to serve it.

Nevertheless, missionaries and their friends continued
to agitate, crying out about the horrors of " slavery "
of the deceptions, outrages, and bloodshed committed by
those they were pleased to stigmatize "labour traffickers."
Yet whenever the circumstances detailed in their reckless
accusations have been inquired into, they have been
found to rest on little or no foundation of fact.

That abuses have occurred, I do not deny ; but what
line of life is exempt from abuses ? Are missionaries
themselves immaculate ? The Rev. Shirley Baker, late
prime minister of Tonga, who was deported from that

A GROSS EXAGGERATION. 271

group only the other day, for abusing the power he had
acquired over the weak and superstitious king, is an
example. Was he the only man in the Pacific who com-
menced life preaching the gospel of love, charity, and
humility with an empty pocket, and who ended with a
good banking account? I fancy not. Nor is "sweating"
confined to the large cities of Europe. There is plenty
of it to be found in the South Sea Islands, by those who
choose to open their eyes and look for it — in the New
Hebrides as elsewhere.

Accompanying Mr. Paton's letter there was published
a " copy of minute of New Hebrides Mission Synod on
the labour traffic." In this it was said : " The Kanaka
labour traffic has, to a large extent, depopulated the New
Hebrides and adjoining islands." This was a gross
exaggeration, to say the least of it. The population of
Aneiteum I. has decreased much more sensibly than that
of any other island in the New Hebrides, although it has
been under the sole control of the Presbyterian mission for
about thirty years, and has been almost unvisited by traders
or labour vessels !

Tanna I. comes next. Further north there is very
little difference in the number of inhabitants, only the
surplus population having been removed. One good
result has been apparent : intertribal wars are not nearly
so frequent, and cannibalism has been checked. Conse-
quently, the tribes recover much more quickly from any
loss of numbers entailed by the labour trade.

I do not wish to create an impression that I "have a
down " on missionaries. During my travels I have only
become personally acquainted, more or less, with eight.
Four of these were Presbyterians, the others belonged
to English Church missions. The latter were, I believe,
good earnest men, though not angels. They were men
willing to give and take ; not devoid of some weaknesses,
or even faults, for which we laymen could make allow-
ance, since they did the same for our frailties. The

272 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Presbyterian missionaries, as far as I could judge, were,
with one exception, narrow-minded, bigoted, and intoler-
ant. They were men who looked only to one side of a
disputed question, which was invariably that side which
suited their own interests ; while to gain their own ends
they would rush into exaggeration, sometimes even to the
extent of downright untruth.

A day or two before the outfit of the Fanny was com-
pleted, a young gentleman, freshly appointed a Govern-
ment agent, appeared on board, announcing himself to
be the officer who was to accompany the vessel to the
South Seas. Apparently he was not aware that his visit
was premature. As yet the ship was not in the labour
trade, since I had not applied for a licence. So, in fact,
he had no business there. Like all " new chum " G. A.'s,
he was filled with an amazing sense of his own dignity,
and treated us with little courtesy. Before he had been
a minute on board the ship, he took upon himself, without
permission, to order my steward about. So aggressive
was his conduct that I was obliged to tell him, at last,
that I thought it would be better for both of us that some
one else should be appointed to the ship.

Leaving my gentleman to digest this pill at his leisure,
I paid a visit to the temporary head of the Immigration
Department. This happened to be the person who had
been sub-immigration agent at Maryborough, the same
with whom I had quarrelled about the allotment of
labourers to employers on board the Stormbird. I now
requested him to appoint some other G. A. to the Fanny.
It appeared, however, that there was no other available
in Brisbane. So, finally, I foolishly allowed myself to be
talked over, and consented not to oppose the appoint-
ment.

I sailed from Brisbane on September 14, bound to
Mackay, in order to ship some " returns " who were
awaiting me there. Application had been made in
Brisbane for licences to recruit, and the ship had been

AN UNFORTUNATE VOYAGE. 273

surveyed satisfactorily. But I was informed that it was
not until I should be ready to depart from Mackay that
the licences would be granted, when the G.A. would also
come on board. To save any possible delay, however,
the latter joined the Fanny in Brisbane, going to Mackay
in her as a passenger only.

I left Mackay on September 27, having ninety
"returns" on board, all for the New Hebrides. I was
licensed to recruit one hundred and forty labourers. I
returned to port again on February 2, 1883, with only
seventy-one, after having been away five months and
seven days. Perhaps I ought to have considered myself
lucky in having obtained so many ; for I had never had
the misfortune before of sailing with such an unpleasant
shipmate as my G.A., nor had I ever met with an official
who was so fond of throwing obstacles in the way of the
successful and lawful accomplishment of the object of
our voyage.

After leaving Mackay, I directed my course to Hervey
Bay, where, near Triangular Cliff, I watered the ship at
a small stream. I thence started afresh for the islands
on October 3. During this passage, which was a pro-
tracted one, in consequence of light and variable winds,
two of the "returns" died. They had been sent on
board under a doctor's certificate, as having disease of
the lungs — a common complaint amongst these islanders
— on the chance of their lives being prolonged if they
reached their homes.

I worked all the islands of the New Hebrides, from
Tanna to Espiritu Santo inclusive. During the whole
voyage only one incident occurred worth mentioning. It
happened at Mallicolo I.

I was at anchor in the channel between Ura islet and
the south-western coast, lying in smooth water, with a
bright blue sky overhead, and a light easterly wind. The
boats had gone away in the morning, northward, taking
the boatswain, who was also recruiter, and the G.A. The

T

274 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

mate was laid up at the time, as indeed he was during
the greater part of the voyage. It was luncheon time,
and I was sitting at the cabin table, when, suddenly, we
felt the unmistakable vibration of an earthquake.

Although earthquakes are of common occurrence in
these islands, this one made me jump. The ship shook
and quivered as though she were galvanized. Had all
her fastenings been loosened by the shock, I should
scarcely have been surprised.

" She's away ! " shouted one of the crew. Rushing out
of the cabin, I found the ship whirling round eastward,
the chain cable grinding and jerking on the windlass,
as the anchor turned, dragged a few fathoms, and then
caught in the bottom again.

On shore the sight was terrible, though magnificent.

" Oh, my poor boats ! " I groaned.

At either side, on the shallow reefs, and high over the
low bushes and smaller trees that lined the shores, a huge
wave was breaking with a dull roaring sound, sweeping
steadily along from the westward, until it disappeared
beyond a long, low point of land. It was the swell of
this wave, unbroken in the deeper water, which had
caught the ship aft, and had slewed her round to her
anchor.

On the islet we could hear the yells and cries of the
natives, as they fled from an adjacent village, making for
higher ground. On the main island, clouds of dust could
be seen rising for miles away, showing where landslips
had occurred on the sides of the steep hills and moun-
tains.

For miles the whole surface of the earth had subsided,
sinking eight feet or so, which had caused the great wave
to rush into the deepened channel.

The tremors of the earthquake still continued, at short
intervals. Then, slowly and gradually, came an upheaval.
The waters poured out from the flooded forest, bearing
with them portions of the huts of the savages, canoes,

UPHEAVAL AND SUBSIDENCE. 275

trees and branches, and even two or three squeaking
pigs, cascading over the face of the flat shore-reefs.
These now rose as high above their normal position as
they had before sunk below it, forming flat terraces along
the coasts, which were elevated to six feet above the
surface of the sea. Masses of " live " coral showed
along the face of the raised shore-reefs, displaying bril-
liant hues, blue, green, yellow, purple, and red, all shining
and glistening in the sun.

This was the first act. A pause of a minute followed.
Then, gradually and majestically, the upraised coral sank
again, and the bright colours disappeared.

Then came another subsidence, and a second vast
billow rolled in from westward, making our chain rip and
tear at the bows as if it meant to pull the windlass out of
the ship. Breaking into clouds of foam, the wave ran
roaring along the shores, while every here and there
some huge tree came toppling over, with torn roots or
broken trunk.

The second upheaval was not equal to the first ; the
reefs did not rise more than about three feet above the
water. Though a third wave rolled in, it was only a
" piccaninny " when compared with those that had pre-
ceded it.

When the earthquake was over, I could perceive no
difference in the height of the shore, from the level of
the sea. The only effects remaining visible were the
branches and broken trees floating about, or lying strewn
along the beaches, with here and there a bare yellow-
brown patch on the side of a hill.

The ship, however, had shifted her position, and was
now dangerously near the Ura shore-reef. So, taking
advantage of a light but favourable wind, I hove up the
anchor and moved her further out, nearer to the middle
of the channel.

The next consideration was — Where were the boats?
Leaving the ship in the third boat — for the Fanny

276 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

carried three — I pulled away in search of them, and met
them returning, about a mile from the ship. One boat
was half full of fish. During the earthquake, they had
been off shore, fortunately, crossing a bay in deep water.
When it was over, they had landed, and the boatmen
had picked up some of the fish on the beach, while the
remainder had been purchased from natives, who had
gathered them up in the forest as they came down from
the higher land.

o

Next day I took the ship to South-West Bay, where I
anchored in five fathoms of water, on a coral patch near
the western side of the bay.

The morning after, we had another scare when getting
under way. Just as the chain was "short," while the
crew were making sail, there came another smart shock.
Luckily no subsidence or wave followed it. I was glad
enough when I saw the coral disappear from under the
ship, as she slipped into deep water.

Christmas Day was spent among the Maskelyne Is.
There we once more heard from the natives the story I
have related about the Frenchman's iron tank, and the
kidnapping.

On January 19, the G.A. gave me notice to return
home, as our provisions were running short. I was
nothing loth, since I should be rid of him all the sooner.
After an uneventful run, we arrived at Flat- top I., off
the mouth of the Pioneer River, on the night of January 2,
1883, with sixty-three men and nine women, recruits, on
board.

It was in the early part of October, 1882, that we
Queenslanders had received the first news of the forma-
tion of the Compagnie Caledonienne des Nouvelles Hebrides,
at Noumea. This undertaking was headed by Mr. John
Higginson, a naturalized French subject. Its capital was
equivalent to ,£20,000, and it had been started with the
avowed object of " colonizing the New Hebrides group,
and inaugurating a reliable and unobjectionable system

RESULT OF EXETER HALL POLICY. 277

for procuring labourers for the Colony of New Cale-
donia."

The Compagnie was supposed to be entirely a private
venture, but, in reality, it was due to a scheme on the
part of the French Government for getting possession of
the New Hebrides. Once started, the Compagnielost no
time in acquiring a strong hold upon the islands. A
small steamer, having on board an officer of the French
navy to supervise all agreements of sale or otherwise, as
well as an agent of the Compugnie, visited every portion
of the group. They bought up all the best land on the
shores of the islands, from the native or European
owners, including some that had been sold t\vo or three
times by the former. These properties were all carefully
surveyed, marked out with large hewn stones at the
angles, and registered at Noumea. The former European
owners, small traders, mostly remained where they were,
as employes of the Compagnie.

So now, the New Hebrides may be said to practically
belong to the French. This has resulted from the short-
sighted policy of Exeter Hall, which discouraged or drove
away British settlers ; thus making room for those who
will eventually drive away its missionaries, as they have
already done in the Loyalties.

At that time, notwithstanding the large and still
increasing fleet of vessels sailing from Queensland to the
South Sea Islands, the demand for a cheap and reliable
class of labourers was far in excess of the supply. Fresh
sugar lands were constantly being taken up and cleared
in the northern parts of the colony.

One scheme for supplying the required labour was the
introduction of Cingalese from Ceylon. A number of
these people had been landed at Mackay in Novem-
ber, 1882, but they had proved a failure. Perhaps they
were tampered with ; at any rate, they refused point-
blank to work on the plantations. While the Fanny was
lying at Mackay, waiting for licences for another voyage,

278 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

dozens of them were loafing about the town, whilst a few
got employment as house servants, and about the stores.
Another batch was subsequently landed at Bundaberg,
with a similar result.

SPEARING FISH BY TORCHLIGHT.

MAP IV.

BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO

(PART)

English Miles

Stvcm. SanjisnAcheai <Sc Co. Landau

CHAPTER XVIII.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE FAXNY, 1883.

Increasing demand for labourers — Father Lannuzel — / sail for
the Bismarck Archipelago — Arrive at New Ireland — TJie
Marquis de Rhys' expedition — Tlie Black Corner — Blanche
Bay, New Britain — The Mother and Daughters Mountains —
Volcanic eruptions — Character of the natives — King Johnny's
views about cannibalism — Weapons and houses — Mountains
and forests — Fever and ague — Hernsheim's station — A re-
trospect— Besieged at Nogai — Nash and I escape — Torlong, the
"fighting" chief — Corruption of native names — A visit to
Mr. Hernsheim — "One Snider cartridge" — The "Tozver
mark " — Torlogga appears — Recognition — Making friends —
Exchange of presents — Remains of 'Nash 's house — The Hopeful
— A mission-teacher checks recruiting — A case of kidnapping
— / make inquiries —And threaten to report it — Duke of
York I. — The end of K 'ing Johnny — His consort in service —
A Port Hunter recruit — Natives of New Ireland eager to
enlist — A rush to the ship — The decks stormed — " Look out !
Cap ! " — Slipping away — My recruit list — After-thoughts —
Doivn St. George's Channel — "Man overboard!" — Recover-
ing deserters — Fourteen escape — Nadup again — Tokkolula en-
gaged as interpreter — Wottam I. — Murder of Tokkolula —
The native slings — The boats attacked — Bringing off the body
— Bearers of bad news — Trouble anticipated — Awaiting
events — Taken by surprise — A fight for life — A race for
tlie boats — Escape — " / 'm done, boys ! " — Counting the
casualties — Progress of the wounded — A painful voyage —
Kindness of missionaries — In tlie ''doldrums" — The Carola
— German offers of assistance — Working homeward — Arrival
at Townsville — The G.A. and I go into hospital — My
wound — I ge to Brisbane — And undergo operation — Recovery ,

THE increasing demand for Polynesian labour, and the
large number of vessels employed in recruiting, combined

28o THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS

to render it necessary that ship-masters should extend
their operations beyond the area of the Solomon and New
Hebrides groups. I had previously had some experience
in the islands of New Britain and New Ireland — Neu
Pommern and Neu Mecklenburgh, as they have been
respectively re-named since their annexation by Germany.
Moreover, one vessel — the Hopeful, of Townsville — had
already undertaken a recruiting voyage thither, and had
met with success. I therefore determined to try my
fortune there also.

It happened that a Roman Catholic missionary —
Father Lannuzel — who had already resided for some time
in New Britain, was then in Queensland, and was
desirous of returning to the island.

o

A bargain was soon struck between us ; and, with
the permission of the Immigration Office, I received him
on board the Fanny, as a passenger to Blanche Bay,
New Britain. I also shipped some stock belonging to
him, for the same destination. This consisted of three
head of cattle, half a dozen goats, and a number of fowls.
These were berthed in the " 'tween decks," which were
only occupied as yet by my four boatmen. For. as
these islands had not been recruited from for Queens-
land prior to the visit of the Hopeful, I had no " returns "
to take back there.

I sailed on March 12, 1883, but was delayed at the
outset of the voyage by a violent south-easterly gale,
with thick rainy weather. This obliged me to lie at
anchor under the Percy Is. for seve'ral days, until the
wind had abated.

About twelve days after leaving Mackay, I rounded
the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Then, with
the wind abeam, I stood northward through the Coral
Sea, and so between the Louisiade Archipelago and the
Solomon group.

By the first of April I was close to the Laughlan Is.
Some canoes came off to the ship there ; but, as none of

THE COAST OF NEW IRELAND. 281

the men in them could speak English, and since I had
not any one who could interpret, no recruiting could be
done.

The trade-wind had so far proved a fresh and steady
one. Then it dropped, the weather becoming cloudy,
wet, and muggy. Every now and then it freshened up,
though variably, from south to east, with squalls and
showers. Our progress was slow ; forty miles a clay
being the average we made after leaving the Laughlans.
When the ship had arrived off Gower Harbour, near
Cape St. George, the southern point of New Ireland, the
wind died away to a dead calm, leaving her at the
mercy of a strong current, which was running through
St. George's Channel from the north.

There seems to be always a current in this channel,
running either north or south, apparently changing with
the prevailing wind. It sets from northward during the
monsoon season, and from the opposite direction when
the " trades " are blowing.

After drifting back for a couple of miles in a like num-
ber of hours, a breeze sprang up from northward, and, for
three days, the Fanny tacked to and fro between Cape
St. George and Cape Buller. We vainly strove to
reach either Gower Harbour or Carteret Harbour, in
both of which places there is good shelter for shipping,
although the anchorage ground is limited, the water being
mostly very deep.

At a short distance northward of these harbours
lies the spot where the colonizing expedition of the
Marquis de Rhys landed in 1880, and attempted to form
a settlement. The leaders could not possibly have
chosen a worse locality on the whole coast of New
Ireland, unless, indeed, it was their object to kill off the
victims of their greed, ignorance, and imbecility. Shut
off from the influence of the trade-wind as the place is,
by high mountains at the back, with a luxuriant and
dense tropical vegetation, and a damp volcanic soil, it

282 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

fairly reeks with fever and ague. Even the natives of
the island themselves call it the " Black Corner." The
poor immigrants to this place died off by the score, and,
in February of the succeeding year, the place was
abandoned altogether.

The head-wind we encountered in St. George's
Channel nearly proved disastrous to Father Lannuzel's
live-stock. Fodder became exhausted, as well as our
patience. Had the wind continued a day or two longer,
we should have been obliged to make beef of the cattle.
Luckily it did not last long enough to drive us to such an
extremity. The trade-wind was now working further
and further north, as the year advanced. Late one
evening, after a short calm, the breeze came up again
from southward, fresh and clear, and gave the old
Fanny as much as she could do to carry her whole
topsail, as she ran before it. When we had made Cape
Palliser, it moderated, hauling round to east-south east.

On April 14, I dropped my anchor in eighteen
fathoms of water, on the eastern side of Mattupi Islet,
in Blanche Bay, on the north-eastern coast of New
Britain.

Blanche Bay is a large indentation of the land, running
in about seven miles, by four in width, and is open to the
east. The western shores are backed by high, steep
hills, the ridges of which are clothed in long, coarse
grass. To the north and north-east, overshadowing the
two inner harbours, there are three lofty peaks, which
are known as the " Mother and Daughters Mountains."
Between the "Mother" and her southern " Daughter,"
on the south-western side of the connecting ridge, there
is the crater of a volcano.

A few years previous to this an eruption had occurred
here, accompanied by an earthquake. Beyond alarming
the natives, however, it caused little damage, except in
the immediate vicinity of the crater. A new islet arose
in the south-western part of the bay.

BLANCHE BAY, NEW BRITAIN. 283

Eruptions of this volcano seem to have occurred only
at long intervals. This was the first that had happened
since 1873 : m which year I had visited New Britain as
a trader, employed by the firm of Godeffroy and Sons, of
Hamburg. At that time the elder natives informed me
that there had been no disturbance within their recollec-
tion. Dampier, however, states that when he passed in
1699, he noticed the smoke of a volcano in this neigh-
bourhood.

The water of Blanche Bay is very deep, and anchor-
age can only be found close in to the shores at Mattupi
Islet. I have been told that, at the extreme head of
the bay, it is not so deep.

WEAPONS — BLANCHE BAY, NEW BRITAIN.

There are three islets in Blanche Bay : one, mentioned
as having been thrown up by an earthquake, which is
a bare and sterile mass of rock ; Mattupi; and another
double islet called the Beehive. These two are covered
with habitations, the plantations of the natives being on
the mainland.

The inhabitants of these islands are all Papuans. In
the mountain villages of New Ireland many of the men
attain a height of six feet. Both sexes go entirely naked.
They are a fierce, warlike, and treacherous race, and are
inveterate cannibals.

I remember, in 1873, asking King Johnny — a great
ch'>f at Port Hunter, Duke of York I. — what his opinion

284

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

was as to the relative merits of the flesh of white men
and of Papuans. It was on the day after a cannibal
feast, when I and others had witnessed the assimilation
of an unfortunate " bushman " by King Johnny and his
warriors.

" Man-o'-bush very good," said he. " Man-Sydney no
good : too much salt."

By "sail" I suppose he meant "rank" White men
eat so much meat that their flesh cannot taste well, I
conclude.

Their arms consist of tomahawks, with iron heads, and
carved " paddle " handles ; clubs — many with stone

HOUSES AND NATIVES— BLANCHE BAY.

heads — spears, and slings. Near Blanche Bay they
possess a few muskets, purchased from a German firm
which has a station on Mattupi I. They chew betel, that
is to say, pounded areca nut, mixed with the pod or leaf
of the betel pepper and a little lime. They are also
rapidly acquiring a taste for tobacco. Kava they know
not. Their dwelling-houses are usually about five feet
high, having arched roofs, thatched with palm-leaves.

Their war-canoes are shaped like a whale-boat.
They are constructed of planks, " seized " together with
twine, and have carved bows and stern-posts. They
have no outriggers, and are similar in construction to the

CANOES AND FISH-TRAPS. 285

war-canoes of the Solomon Islanders. The lighter

o

canoes, used for the transportation of women to the
plantations, and for carriage of food thence, are hollowed
out of logs. They have plank side-boards, fastened on
with twine, and light curved ends. They are fitted
with outriggers. These canoes are invariably white-
washed. Their food consists chiefly of bananas, taro,
cocoanuts, small yams, sweet potatoes, and fish, to-
gether with an occasional "human."

Large wicker fish-traps are in common use. These
are about eight feet long, barrel-shaped, with orifices at
each end. Weighted with stones, they are lowered by

OUTRIGGER CANOE — NEW BRITAIN.

a rope to a depth of two or three fathoms, being kept in
position by a log attached to them, which floats on the
surface.

New Britain and New Ireland are lofty and mountain-
ous, some peaks rising over 3,000 feet above sea-level.
They are luxuriantly fertile.

Duke of York I. (Neu Lauenburg) lies between them.
It is chiefly of raised coral formation, and is thickly
wooded. It possesses two good harbours — Port
Hunter and Mioko.

At Port Hunter a Wesleyan mission station has been
established, where the Revs. Dank and Rickard resided
with their wives and children.

286 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Europeans are liable to attacks of fever and ague on
the larger islands, but I think that, in Duke of York I.,
they are exempt from them, probably in consequence of
its coral formation. King Johnny once told me that when
his people visited New Ireland or New Britain, and
stayed there awhile, they often returned sick. I think
he called the ailment " mellapun."

At the time of my present visit, a German, named
Hernsheim, had a large trading establishment on the
north-eastern side of Mattupi I. This comprised some
half a dozen dwellings and store-houses, the whole sur-
rounded by a galvanized iron fence or wall. There
was a wharf, at which a Hamburgh barquentine — the
Emil Mullenhausen — was then lying, taking in a cargo of
copra for Europe.

Knowing the dislike that traders evince to the visits
of labour vessels, as well as that the German would not
be likely to influence the natives in my favour, I had
some doubts about my probable reception. Nor was I
sure of a welcome from the Mattupi people ; for there
was an old score yet to be rubbed out between them
and me.

Ten years before this, the Hamburgh brig Iserbrook,
Captain Levison, visited New Britain, in order to land
John Nash, a trader, there. She lay at anchor while a
thatched house was built for him, on the south-western side
of Mattupi. Thence she went to Nogai, west of Cape
Stephens, at which place I landed, and formed a trading
station. The Iserbrook then sailed to the Caroline group,
whence Captain Levison proposed to return in about
three months.

Before the brig left, the natives, with their usual
treachery, had formed the intention of murdering us after
her departure. The execution of their plot did not
altogether succeed, for we escaped. Nevertheless, they
got what they most wanted — namely, all our stores,
" trade," and some of our firearms.

FORMER EXPERIENCES IN NEW BRITAIN. 287

I remained at Nogai for about four weeks afterwards.
During the last week of that period I lived in a state of
siege. My garrison consisted of only two men — a Malay,
and a native of Rotumah I. One night I got away in a
canoe, with my men, from the beach, just as a crowd of
savages stormed the station. Early next morning I
reached Mattupi.

There, three weeks later, Nash and I, together with
two Malays, the Rotumah man, and a woman from the
Carolines, had to fight our way out of our burning
houses, and take refuge in a small bamboo hut, at a
little distance from them. This we held for a time,
"rubbing out" eight of the islanders, besides wounding
seven more, finally escaping in Nash's boat.

The principal "fighting chief" of the tribe that at-
tacked us — a young man we knew by the name of
Torlong — was friendly, taking no part against us. On
the contrary, knowing that our oars, mast, and sail had
been consumed in the burning- store-house, he crave us

o o

four paddles. But for him we must have been killed.
In consequence of what he had done to aid our escape,
Torlong was speared in the thigh by one of his own
people. After his recovery from the wound, however,
he resumed his position as " fighting chief." At the time
of this, my second visit, he had become head chief of the
whole tribe.

As soon as the sails had been stowed, Father Lan-
nuzel departed in a canoe for his residence at Nadup,
a village on the northern slopes of the Mother Mountain.
The G.A. and I then took boat and pulled in to the
trading station. Landing on the small boat wharf near
the gate of the enclosure, we found some natives await-
ing our arrival. After a few questions and answers had
been exchanged, I ascertained that Torlong was not
only alive, but that he was also now the head chief of
Mattupi. His name had been altered to Torlogga.

I noticed another change in a name, too. Formerly

288 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

" Mattupi " had been pronounced Mat-tu-pi, now it was
Mat-tu-/^. Probably this was owing to its having- been
written Mattupee by white visitors, then mispronounced
by others, whose rendering had been presently imitated
by the natives themselves.

Many South Sea Island words — especially names of
places — have become corrupted in this way. Early
navigators and traders are careless in learning the native
names, mispronounce them, and make a greater mess of
it when they come to write them down. Other Euro-
peans read their versions, and still further mispronounce
them. Lastly, the natives follow the new style, and
gradually drop into the corruptions instituted by their
white visitors.

In 1870, when I first knew the island of Sandwich, in
the New Hebrides group, the missionaries, who are
supposed to be great authorities on such matters, wrote
its native name, Vate. Since then it was altered to
Fate, and now it is written and supposed to be Efate.
Niua was once Nieua, now it is Aniwa. Api — and
Heaven only knows how it got that name, for it was not
its native name in 1870 — is now often written Epi.
Ambrym, of the charts, is now to be called Ambirr,
though in 1870 the natives appeared to me to pronounce
it Amberam, or Ambram. Tonga and Tannoa have
been confounded, of course.

Again, at Rennell and Bellona Is., though they have
been little visited by vessels, and though no white men
have yet resided in them, the native names have ap-
parently changed considerably in about a dozen or fifteen
years, without any foreign influence. Tom Tamoan
pronounced the native names of them Mungava and
Mungigi ; but during my visits I always heard them
called Muava and Muigi.

A present of a stick of tobacco sufficed to send a
couple of boys off to summon the chief, Torlogga, whom,
for good reasons, I preferred to interview first at the

FIREARMS SOLD BY GERMANS. 289

station. Then we paid a visit to Mr. Hernsheim, find-
ing him in his office, his two or three clerks being en-
gaged in weighing and superintending the shipment of
copra on board the barquentine at the wharf.

In the course of conversation I recounted my former
experiences of New Britain, and of Mattupi I. ; and Mr.
Hernsheim expressed a strong opinion that it would be
absolutely dangerous for me to venture into the native
village. This I of course accepted as " bluff," to prevent
our becoming so friendly with the natives as to obtain
recruits.

Among objects of interest in the office, the G.A. and
I particularly noticed a sheet of cardboard, which hung
just inside the door. On it was a list of prices, and the
equivalent weight of copra to be received from natives
for the different articles of trade. The last article
mentioned was " one Snider cartridge ! "

I called this to mind subsequently, on reading a letter
from Hernsheim in the Queensland papers, in which he
complained that Queensland labour vessels had been
supplying the New Britain natives with firearms in his
neighbourhood. A wound I received some three weeks
afterwards was caused by half of a Snider bullet.

It is well known that all the Snider rifles — which may
be counted by the thousand — now in the hands of
natives of the Solomon Is., which are under British
protection, though of British manufacture, and many of
them bearing the " TOWER " mark, have been sold to
the natives by German traders.

We had been at the station about half an hour, when
a boy brought me word that " Torlogga stop." Going
down to the gateway — beyond which he did not dare to
venture without permission — I found the chief awaiting
me, with eight or ten of his principal followers.

Ten years had made a considerable change in Tor-
logga, but I recognized his face at once. All his party
looked upon me as a stranger, however.

u

290 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I have no doubt that time, not to say better health
also, had changed me considerably since they had first
known me. In those days I had been suffering from
fever and ague, with a determination of blood to the
head, which had affected my eyes to such an extent
that I was almost blind. To protect my eyes from the
glaring sunlight, I had always appeared out of doors with
a white handkerchief tied round my head to serve as a
shade. I had also become bald in the interval.

" You savez me ? " I asked them, after I had shaken
hands with Torlogga.

" No ! No savez, Cap!" and they all stared at me
without a sign of recognition.

" You savez two white men stop Mattupi, long time
ago ? He got house other side Mattupi " — pointing
across the islet. " Man Mattupi fight alonga him ; burn
house."

" Yes, me savez."

Then I took out my handkerchief and fastened it
round my head, as I used to wear it.

" You savez me now ? "

"Cap Wan! Cap Wan!" from the whole crowd,
some of those in the rear beginning to sneak off for the
cover of the trees close at hand.

Torlogga and two others stood their ground, how-
ever; for the chief knew that he had nothing to fear
from me. A hand-shake all round sufficed to make peace
between us.

By this time the G. A. and the trader had joined me,
so bidding good-day to the last, I returned on board,
taking Torlogga and two subordinate chiefs with me.
The other natives hung back, being evidently doubtful
about the treatment they might receive if they ventured
to trust me any further. Perhaps they were astonished
when the chief returned to them an hour afterwards,
possessed of a musket and ammunition, calico, axes, and
tobacco — wealth sufficient to constitute him a millionaire

FRIENDLY RELATIONS ESTABLISHED. 291

in their estimation. For, according to their customs —
which I took care to observe — presents are always ex-
changed between the parties to a treaty of peace.

In return, towards sundown, two canoes came off,
bearing Torlogga's presents to me. These consisted of
a couple of pigs, and enough yams, sweet potatoes,
cocoanuts, and bananas to load the canoes down to the
gunwales. Two young women were also sent — part of
the gift. However, as they were not intended as re-
cruits for Queensland, they were sent back ashore.
Notwithstanding all the talk of our detractors about the
immorality on board labour vessels, the regulations on
that score are as strictly carried out with us as they are
on board the missionary packets.

Friendly relations having now been firmly established,
that evening, after dark, the G.A. and I wandered un-
harmed through the village, where a "sing-sing" was
going on. We lost a few sticks of tobacco, certainly,
some pipes, and a sheath-knife or so ; for these people
do not need any instruction in the art of picking pockets.
But that was all.

Next morning early, after a bathe on the beach, I
rambled over to the other side of the island. There
I found a single charred post still standing, a relic of
Nash's house, in the midst of a thicket of bushes. Some
boys also drew my attention to a cocoanut palm, not far
from it, in which there was a hole through the middle of
the trunk, at about the height of my head. I was told
that this hole had been made by one of our bullets,
which had killed a man who was sheltering himself

o

behind the tree.

I lay in Blanche Bay for some three or four days,
during which time Father Lannuzel's stock was landed,
on the point of the mainland between the two inner
bays. The shores were also worked meanwhile for re-
cruits. The barquentine Hopeful, of Townsville, Captain
Briggs, Mr. Chayter G.A., anchored near the Fanny

2Q2 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

during the day after my arrival. It was here, and in
connection with this vessel, that there came under my
notice the first case of kidnapping I had seen committed
by a Queensland ship since I had been connected with
the labour trade.

One afternoon, my G.A. and myself took the boats
four or five miles south-eastward. Landing on the main-
land we visited the Roman Catholic mission. Father
Lannuzel had not accompanied us on this occasion, as he
was then engaged at his station at Nadup, a village on
the outer side of Mother Mountain.

After spending an hour or so with the Fathers, we were
walking along the beach near the mission, to rejoin our
boats, when we encountered those of the Hopeful. The
recruiter of that vessel, McNeil, was in charge of them,
the G.A. having remained on board. He had been out
all day, and had had no more luck than ourselves ;
neither ship having obtained any recruits here so far.
We left him talking to a party of some half a dozen
natives.

A little further on we met a coloured gentleman, clad
in a shirt and a " sulu " (waist-cloth), with a book in his
hand. He was a Protestant mission teacher, and prob-
ably a Samoan, judging from his appearance. He told
ns his house was some distance away, along the beach,
in the direction we were going. Beyond that information,
however, we could get nothing out of him. He was
there to act in opposition to us, and not to give informa-
tion. As we pulled along the beach, he kept abreast of
the boats. Every now and then, when any natives
approached the water's edge and tried to communicate
with us, he got in the way, and, with a few words, per-
suaded them to retire.

It was evident that no recruits could be obtained
whilst this man was about, so we pulled across the bay,
back to the ship. A little before sunset McNeil returned,
coming alongside the Fanny on his way to the Hopeful,

A CASE OF KIDNAPPING. 293

which lay inshore of us, to exchange notes with my re-
cruiter.

In his boat there was a New Britain man, who was,
he told us, a recruit. After his departure, the truth
about this boy came out. McNeil's boatmen had told
mine, that, despairing of obtaining any willing recruits,
just as they were shoving the boat off from the beach,
McNeil had seized this native by his wool and had pulled
him into the boat. In point of fact, he had kidnapped
him.

That evening, my G.A. and I visited the Hopeful.
In her cabin I broached the subject of this so-called
recruit. Mr. Chayter then explained that, shortly after
the arrival of their boats, he had discovered that the
New Britain man had been kidnapped. He informed
me that on the morrow the man should be relanded.
However, as there was no one else on board the Hopeful
who was able to discharge the duties of a " recruiter," he
merely intended to caution McNeil, without depriving
him of his billet. My next question was a poser.

" Do you intend to report him to the Government
for kidnapping when you get back ? "

This Chayter did not like. "It would cause trouble,
and do no good. Only ' kick up a row.' McNeil
would not do it again. He must have been crazy to try
it."

But this was not enough for me.

"If you don't report him," I said, " I will; and you
will be home first, so I give you a good chance."

So at last the G.A. promised to report McNeil, and
then the subject was dropped.

But he did not report him on their return, that I
know of. At any rate, I was so informed at the Im-
migration Office at Brisbane, where I spoke of the
matter privately.

McNeil afterwards sailed on two voyages as recruiter
of the Hopeful, with Captains Voss and Shaw, and with

294 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

what result will be seen subsequently. Even on this
present voyage, immediately after they left Blanche Bay
—the Hopeful sailed a day before the Fanny — McNeil
kidnapped another man from Nadup beach. Shortly
after that, the Hopeful anchored in Port Hunter, Duke
of York I., where the natives, visiting the ship, heard of
it, and informed the Revs. Dank and Rickards, the
missionaries there. Through their instrumentality the
man was returned to his home. At least, the Hopeful's
boats left Port Hunter with him, with the avowed inten-
tion of returning him.

This episode occurred previous to an attack on my
G.A. and myself at Nadup, which I shall describe
presently. It was also the subject of a letter from the
Rev. Mr. Dank to a friend in Queensland, which letter
was published in a Queensland paper — "The Ipswich
Advocate," I think — about the beginning of November,
1883.

Despairing of obtaining recruits on this part of New
Britain, where traders and mission teachers combined to
frustrate all our endeavours, I sailed over to Duke of
York I., and lay at anchor there for a couple of days
in Port Hunter, a small but deep bay on the north-east
coast.

The mission station there is situated on the north-
western " head." The missionary's residence is a neat,
substantial wooden building, facing the entrance of the
bay, and overlooking the harbour.

Next day, while the G.A. and the recruiter visited
the opposite coast of New Ireland in the boats, I was
hospitably entertained by the missionaries.

Ten years before, John Nash and I took refuge in
this harbour, having been driven away from New
Britain. King Johnny was then its ruler. That
potentate had been dead some years, having been
slaughtered by a neighbouring monarch — his own brother.
His wife was still alive, and she was living at the mission

A PORT HUNTER RECRUIT. 295

as a servant. I barely recognized her when she en-
tered Mrs. Dank's sitting-room, bearing a tray of refresh-
ments. Soap, good food, and a quiet life, " secure from
war's alarms," as also from her husband's club, had,
together with a neat print dress, made a wonderful
difference in her. She now looked younger, instead of
ten years older, than when I first knew her.

When the boats returned they brought three recruits,
who had been obtained with some difficulty, owing to
the opposition of the mission teachers stationed there.
Had it not been for them, the boats would have been
loaded with recruits. A great number of the younger
men were only restrained by force, through the influence
the teachers.

Only one of the Port Hunter tribe offered himself.
He said nothing to his friends concerning his intention,
but quietly rolled up his mats and few clothes and re-
paired on board the Fanny, while I was at the mission.
Then some of his friends rushed up to the house with
the news, asking Mr. Dank to order him to leave the
ship. I think they were rather surprised to find that the
missionary did not possess absolute control over all white
men — myself among them.

The youth was accepted as a recruit and left in the
ship. A few days later he was re-landed at Port Hun-
ter ; for he soon repented of his temerity, and by then I
had plenty on board without him.

I sailed from Port Hunter with a light south-easter,
passing over to New Ireland, where I spent three days
recruiting. I worked the coast between Cape Givry and
Cape Strauch, having the quickest success I have ever
experienced.

On the third day, April 28, I engaged seventy-one
men by 3 p.m., being even obliged to send back several
who came off in the recruiting boats, as my licensed
quota was made up. I had now 143 men and one woman
on board ; and, had I been able to carry them, I might

296

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

have doubled that number in the course of the next
twenty-four hours.

The excitement all along this part of the coast was in-
tense. The boats were sometimes fairly rushed by men
eager to get away, who tumbled in without waiting to be
asked, and fought and struggled with such of their friends
as strove to detain them. Many, who were afraid they
might miss the opportunity, paddled off to the ship in
small canoes, or on bamboo catamarans. Several even
swam off, with the aid of dry logs of wood.

Some of the older men, who disapproved of this
wholesale exodus, also took to their canoes and chased
the runaways.

A CATAMARAN — NEW IRELAND.

All round the ship at least fifty canoes, carrying over
a hundred men, were paddling about, chasing or being
chased. There was an uproar of shouting, laughing,
very likely swearing also, with prodigious splashing.
Every now and then some young fellow, who had been
cut off from the ship by his friends, would take a header.
Diving down under the other canoes, he would not come
up until close alongside, when he would seize a rope left
conveniently hanging, and so would speedily clamber on
deck.

There was no waiting for "pay," nor yet for any
agreement with regard to the term of service in Queens-

THE DECKS STORMED. 297

land, or the remuneration at the end of it. All they
wanted was to get away, till the Fanny s decks began to
be crowded.

Suddenly I noticed that a few new arrivals, climbing
up on board, were middle-aged men. These were big,
muscular fellows, more like stay-at-home warriors than
recruits. Then one of the New Britain interpreters
rushed aft to me, crying, —

" Look out, Cap ! Man, he want to take ship ! "

Our merry game was growing dangerous. The ship
was now about a mile off shore, lying to, with her
head to the land. A pull of the lee braces hauled the
yards round ; then, as the square canvas filled, she slip-
ped away, clear of the canoes. More than a dozen of
the suspected new-comers jumped overboard as the
canoes went astern.

A little further in I picked up the boats, coming off
with recruits. Well satisfied with the day's work, I then
stood off until safe from attack. Next, we took stock of
the crowd we had on board, taking down their names
and explaining the terms of agreement for service in
Queensland. Lastly, we served out blankets, pipes, and
tobacco to them. Many had never used tobacco as yet,
but they all seemed eager enough to learn how to do so.

My recruit list was now full, without counting the
Port Hunter man, whom I landed the second day after.
There were four in excess besides, so I made a " board "
inshore, putting them off near their village, Kornu. I
then worked back southward, knowing it would be
dangerous to linger in the neighbourhood. For, many
of my recruits must have engaged themselves on the
spur of the moment ; and, as soon as they began to feel
sea-sick, or home-sick, it was too probable some would
desert, so long as their home was in sight. I have
observed a similar feeling take possession of white
emigrants, when going down the English Channel,
bound for the colonies.

298 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Luckily, I had filled up my water-tanks on this coast
while recruiting ; I had also a good stock of firewood on
board. So, without anchoring anywhere, I worked away
to windward against the south-east wind, fighting the
current as well, which, since my arrival, had changed its
flow, and was now setting northward.

Off Nadup, I hove to for an hour or so, to put ashore
the chief and his men who had acted as our interpreters.
I gave them an amount of pay in " trade " that delighted
them hugely. At Port Hunter the boy I had brought
thence, who had now had enough of the sea, was allowed
to land again. I fancy he did not like the companion-
ship of the Kornu men.

Between Point Hunter, New Ireland, and Cape Palli-
ser, New Britain — the narrowest part of St. George's
Channel — our progress to windward was very slow ;
about five miles a day was all we could make against
wind and current. The pitching of the vessel made
many of the recruits cast sorrowful and, repentant looks
at the shores of New Ireland.

On the evening of May 7, about 8 o'clock, the G.A.
and I were just sitting down to our usual game at crib-
bage in the deckhouse, when suddenly the boatswain on
deck sang out, " Man overboard ! "

I had just tacked about, not more than half a mile off
the New Ireland coast, some two or three miles south of
Point Hunter. I guessed what was up the moment I
heard the cry.

" Down with the helm • Hard-a-lee ! " I shouted, as
I came out of the cabin door ; and round came the old
craft like a top. So quickly, indeed, did she answer to
the helm that she dropped, with her square-sails aback,
almost atop of two swimmers. They deemed "prudence
the better part of valour," and so climbed up the side
again. They were on deck almost as soon as we knew
that they had left the ship. But it was not these the
boatswain had sighted when he gave the alarm.

FOURTEEN DESERTERS. 299

Others must be in the water between the ship and
the shore, swimming- away towards the land. Both boats
were quickly lowered and sent away in the direction of
the land. They returned in half an hour without having
found any of the deserters.

The recruits were now all down below. So, as soon
as the boats were secured and the ship on her way again,
a rough count was made as they lay in their bunks.
They numbered a hundred and thirty, including the
woman in the females' compartment. Fourteen men,
therefore, had slipped overboard and made for the shore.

Next day the wind fell light and the sky clouded over.
Towards evening rain began to fall. During the follow-
ing night the ship was carried by the current back to
Duke of York I., near the northern end of which, a mile
or two beyond Port Hunter, I anchored to wait for more
favourable weather. That evening the sky cleared
again and became fair, with a light breeze still blowing
from south-east. My old ship, the Stanley, passed me
here, going northward in search of recruits, under the
command of Captain Harris, Mr. William McMurdo
being G.A.

On the following morning, the breeze still being ad-
verse, I weighed anchor and stood over to Nadup to
engage interpreters again. My object was to secure
fourteen more recruits, to make up the deficiency occa-
sioned by the recent desertions.

The old chief, however, and the men who had accom-
panied him, were not again forthcoming. They were
away at some neighbouring village attending a feast A
subordinate chief, named Tokkolula, and another man
whose name I now forget, volunteered to serve as inter-
preters, and came off to the ship with me.

Tokkolula was not a native of Nadup, but had been
adopted by the tribe there. He came originally from
Wottam I., which lies about three miles northward of
Cape Stephens. Having fled thence in his youth on

300 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

account of some crime or misdemeanour, he had taken
refuge at Nadup, where his fighting abilities had raised
him to the dignity of second chief of the tribe.

Tokkolula's advice to me was to go to Wottam, his
native island, where, he said, he was certain to obtain for
me the required number of recruits.

When I returned on board the Fanny with these men,
the day was too far advanced to admit of sailing to Wot-
tam I. with hopes of being able to do any work there
before dark. So the ship was kept " dodging " about all
night off Cape Stephens. Next morning, at sunrise, I
found myself becalmed, about a mile from the south-
eastern shore of Wottam. The boats visited the island
before breakfast, but did not obtain any recruits.

The G.A., feeling hungry, returned to the ship for his
breakfast about eight o'clock. He had the second inter-
preter in his boat, Tokkolula being with the recruiter in
the other. The latter officer was too eager after re-
cruits to think about breakfast. He pulled along the
shore westward, and, when the G.A. left the ship again
to rejoin him, he had gone out of sight round a point of
land.

The ship was now becalmed, or I should have kept
the boats in sight. For upwards of an hour we saw
nothing of either of them. Then suddenly they came
into view, pulling hard for the ship. Scanned through
the glass, they did not appear to have any extra men
in them ; on the contrary, there was evidently a hand
short in one of them.

So it proved. Poor Tokkolula was lying dead in the
bottom of the recruiter's boat, with two spear-wounds
through his body and a couple of great gashes from
tomahawks — one in his neck, the other in the small of
his back.

It appeared that when the G.A. returned to the ship
for breakfast, the recruiter had pulled slowly along the
shore, stopping here and there while Tokkolula con-

MURDER OF TOKKOLULA. 301

versed with the natives, a gradually increasing party of
these following the boat along the shore. About the
time the G.A. was nearing the island, on his return to
it, the recruiter was drawing near the western point.
The body of natives on shore had then increased to quite
two hundred men. They were all armed with spears,
clubs, tomahawks, and slings.

With these slings, by the way, they can deliver stones
with tremendous force, sufficient to cave a man's skull
in at two hundred yards distance. The discharge is
accompanied by a sharp " crack " from the sling-cord,
nearly as loud as that of a stock-whip.

As Tokkolula evinced no uneasiness, the recruiter, very
naturally, did not dream of hostilities ; and so he confi-
dently steered his boat in towards a sandy beach, the
natives calling out to him to come to them.

After talking awhile with a number clustered round
the stern of the boat, Tokkolula, remarking that the sun
was too hot for him to remain in the boat, went on shore.
He repaired to a large log that was lying near under the
shelter of the trees, and sat down upon it.

He had not been sitting on the log a couple of minutes,
when down he went under his countrymen's tomahawks,
two spears being plunged into his body at the same
time.

The boat was attacked simultaneously, but the savages
were too eager and crowded each other. For a few

o

seconds there was a scuffle about and in the boat ; but,
luckily, she was afloat, and a shove of the steering-oar
sent her out into deep water. The recruiter got a nasty
blow from a sling-stone, and each of the boatmen had
some bruises, but none were seriously hurt.

Just then the G.A.'s boat arrived on the scene. With
the assistance of his crew a rush was made ashore, and
the interpreter's body was brought off. The natives,
meanwhile, continued to pelt our people with spears and
stones from a little distance.

302 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

When the boats came alongside it was dead calm and
awfully hot, there being no sign of wind anywhere.

In the afternoon, we deemed it best to bury the dead
interpreter at sea, before the body became offensive. The
other interpreter was consulted, and he approved of it.
So the remains of the unfortunate Tokkolula were de-
cently enshrouded in canvas, with some stones from the
ballast at the feet, and quietly put overboard.

About three o'clock, to my surprise, a northerly breeze
sprang up. This soon carried the ship back to Nadup,
where we hove to. The G.A. and I then went ashore
to Father Lannuzel's mission station, taking the other
native with us, together with his pay. We also took a
quantity of " trade," a present for Tokkolula's friends, in
case they should prove disposed to throw any of the
blame of the murder on our shoulders.

When we landed a few natives appeared on the beach,
as well as the Father, with whom was Buckley, a trader
who lived close at hand, being in Hernsheim's employ-
ment.

The remaining interpreter's story was soon told to his
countrymen — though Heaven only knows what he said to
them. He then disappeared with his wages, along with
most of the other natives, leaving half a dozen, who re-
mained close to the G.A. and me. Father Lannuzel was
much disturbed at the news, and Buckley soon went off
to his house, saying he expected there would be trouble.
I think very little would have induced the G.A. and me
to quit also. For sharp, shrill yells of anger from the
men, and long, mournful cries of grief from the women,
made our flesh creep. These showed that the feeling
in the village, excited by the news of Tokkolula's death,
was intense.

But we wished to avert trouble from any future comers,
as well as from the whites then living there. So we
remained waiting for the chief, who, the natives assured
us, would arrive presently.

A FIGHT FOR LIFE. 303

We waited for about half an hour, and still the chief
did not appear. We never suspected that the six savages
who remained on the spot, smiling and grinning around
us, were only acting as decoys. Their object was to keep
us from leaving until warriors could be collected on three

o

sides of us, under cover of the thick forest and under-
wood. Then they meant to put us two to death.

We had left our rifles in the boat, but we had revol-
vers in our belts. We were standing close behind
Father Lannuzel's house, a structure of thatch and bam-
boo. We were about five yards apart, with three natives
(two spears and one tomahawk) fronting each of us. I
was laughing at something, when suddenly my two
spearmen thrust their weapons at me. I stooped on the
impulse of the moment, so that one spear went over me
into the house. The other pierced my right arm below
the elbow, struck the bone, and fell to the ground. At
the same time, down came the tomahawk. Somehow,
the head missed me, though I felt the handle strike my
shoulder. The next moment I had a good hold of it,
and was struggling for its possession. Meanwhile I kept
my foot on the fallen spear, so as to prevent its owner
from picking it up and using it again.

The attack had been so sudden, that, for a moment,
I was quite bewildered, and only fought instinctively. I
was half deafened, at the same time, by shouts and yells,
and the explosions of musketry.

I soon got the tomahawk to myself, putting my foe on
his back at my feet. It was lucky for him, then, that the
weapon and its paddle-shaped handle were almost a
novelty to me. Another second and I should have split
his head open, when a slug — half of a Snider ball —struck
me on the right arm, just above the wrist, crippling the
limb.

My adversary now bolted for the bush, as his com-
panions had already done. When I felt for my " bull-
dog," to send a bullet after him, the holster was empty.

304 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The pistol must have dropped out during the rough-
and-tumble, and been lost in the thick layer of dust, sand,
and leaves that covered the ground.

Meantime, Fowler, the G.A., with a cut on the shoulder
from a tomahawk, had emptied his revolver. So now,
with the spear and tomahawk in my hands, we both
bolted for the boat, where our boys were making play
with their Sniders, firing into the forest, whether they got
a glimpse of our enemies or not.

There was a fall of about six feet, from the level
ground on which the mission stood, to the sandy beach.
Down this we both dropped, and had got as far as the
water's edge, when a bullet struck the G.A on the left
arm, shattering the bone. Then I tumbled into a hole,
and, before I was up again, a savage had nearly trans-
fixed me with his spear. Luckily, I turned about as the
point of the spear entered my left shoulder, causing it
to break off short, though six inches of it remained in the
flesh.

The next thing I remember was getting hold of the
boat's stern, and the stroke oarsman helping me in.
Then together we dragged in Father Lannuzel. The

o *~^ *— '

G.A. was pulled in forward, and then we cleared off as
quickly as we could, amidst a shower of bullets and sling-
stones.

My Winchester rifle was lying in the stern locker ready
loaded. The natives kept close under cover, however,
and I only got a fair shot at one, who showed his head
and shoulders. He dropped ; but whether he was hit or
no, I cannot say. I fired away at the puffs of smoke
issuing from the bushes, until the magazine of the rifle
was empty. Then I turned to the stroke-oarsman to get
his rifle. But my fighting for that day was over. I had
the Snider in my hand, and was about to put in a
cartridge, when a ball struck the boat near the stern-post,
penetrating the planks, and also my left foot. As I felt
the bones crunch, a sensation of nausea and faintness

COUNTING THE CASUALTIES. 305

overpowered me. Then down I went in the stern-sheets,
murmuring, " I'm done, boys ! "

Another bullet struck the boat's stern immediately
after, penetrating beneath the planks on which I was
lying. This was the last shot that came close to us ;
and very soon we were out of range, pulling for the ship,
which had drifted off the land to the distance of three
miles.

During the skirmish a canoe with four natives in her
was alongside the ship. We could have cut her off had
we wished ; but we let her go, as the men in her had
not been concerned in the attack.

As soon as we arrived alongside, Father Lannuzel
climbed on deck. The G.A. and I remained where we
were, until the boat had been hoisted up as high as the
rail. Then we were helped out on to the deck, and so
into the cabin.

Father Lannuzel had got a barked shin, attributable to
a bullet. The G. A.s' left arm had been severely wounded
by a musket ball and several slugs. He had also a gash
from a tomahawk on one shoulder. I had sustained
slug and spear wounds in the right arm, a spear wound
in the left shoulder, a bullet nearly through the left
foot, and, though I did not know it until I arrived at
Mackay, a fractured rib, the effect of a sling-stone pro-
bably.

The weather being very close and warm, we had our
mattresses laid on the main cabin floor. There we both
remained until the ship neared the Queensland coast, two
solid months of weary, painful existence. The chief
mate acted as head nurse, besides having to attend to the
navigation of the ship, to look after the recruits, and to
keep his watch every alternate four hours.

For several days the Fanny lay at anchor in Port
Hunter. There we received every possible attention
from the. missionaries. They cut out the bullet that was
in my foot, and furnished us with several medical com-

5o6 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

forts that we were in need of, and which, very likely,
they could ill spare from their scanty stores. The
slug in my arm shifted its position one night, work-
ing out from between the bones, and then the mate
extracted it.

We were delayed at Duke of York I. for more than a
week, owing to light variable winds and calms. The
last two or three nights of our stay were spent at Mioko,
a snug land-locked harbour on the south of the island.
Mr. Farren's head trading station was situated there,
and we lay at anchor in company with three other vessels
—the Haabai, formerly called the Sea Rip, the Niujo,
and the Falcon.

At last, one morning, a fresh breeze sprang up from the
north, and with the assistance of the captain of the
Haabai, who piloted us, we once more got to sea. This
breeze carried us through the channel and about twenty
miles south of New Ireland, when we were again be-
calmed, and for the next fortnight were fairly in the
"doldrums." Gradually, however, though slowly, the
Fanny crept southward, the wind freshening up as she
got further away.

Off the south-western coast of Bougainville I., we spoke
the Carola, a German corvette. She steamed up to us
in answer to our "urgent" signal for medical assistance.
A lieutenant boarded us in company with the surgeon,
who attended to our hurts. He appeared to think there
was little chance that the G.A. would survive till we
reached Queensland ; for the wounded arm was now in a
terrible state.

These Germans did all they could for us. The cap-
tain even offered to take the G.A. and me to Batavia in
the corvette, so that we could remain under his surgeon's
care. This we declined, however, not without many
thanks for the offer. We then parted company, the cor-
vette steering northward, whilst we " hammered " away
against the freshening south-easter, which blew up into a

WE GO INTO HOSPITAL. 307

hard gale off Ronongo I., obliging us to seek shelter under
Banquet ta Point for a couple of days — an opportunity
we used for filling up the water-tanks.

We were now fairly in the " trades " again, and made
a dead " beat " as far as the Lihou Reefs. I kept the ship
away to windward of these, steering for Flinders' open-
ing in the Great Barrier. After dark, on July 2, the
anchor was dropped in Cleveland Bay, off Townsville.
The G.A. and I then found quarters in the hospital there,
while the Fanny went on to Mackay in charge of the
mate.

I remained only a few days at Townsville, going on
to Mackay in the A.S.M. Co.'s steamer Elamang, leaving
the G.A. still in the hospital. He eventually recovered
his health there, though not the full use of his arm. The
elbow-joint remained stiff and useless ever afterwards.
As for my own wounds, all, except the spear wound in
my left shoulder, had almost healed up by the time we
arrived at Townsville. The doctor there said that some
foreign body — probably a piece of the spear — was still
resting in unpleasant proximity to the shoulder-blade.
He was either unable to extract it, or perhaps thought it
better to await further developments.

I remained some three weeks at Mackay, and then, as
I was suffering agonies from rheumatism in the wounded
shoulder, and as there appeared to be little chance of
my obtaining relief, I went on to Brisbane in the s.s.
Yaralla. The passage occupied a week, as the steamer
had to call in at several ports on her way. In the mean-
time, an abscess formed just over the spot where the piece
of wood lay embedded.

On our arrival at Brisbane, I was met by a friend, who
took me to the hospital. For I was so weak that I now
needed assistance when moving about. That same day,
August 7, the abscess was opened. The spear point — a
piece of wood four inches long — was discovered, lying
upon the shoulder-blade. Next day I was put under

3o8 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

chloroform, and the thing was extracted ; a third opening
having to be made to effect the removal.

For some little time, I believe, my condition was con-
sidered rather precarious. Eventually I recovered, and
left the hospital, a month after the operation, almost fit
for work again. My right hand will never fully recover
its strength, and a hit out with the left sometimes causes
an unpleasant twinge in the shoulder on that side.

CHAPTER XIX.

FIRST VOYAGE OF THE LIZZIE, 1883-84.

/ am appointed to tJie Lizzie — Fitting out — A bad sailer — The
new regulation concerning' firearms — Where to go ? — / sail
from Townsville in December — The Louisiade Archipelago
— Teste I. — A sick mission teacher — The Eileen and her
skipper — Beche-de-mer collectors — Recruiting at Mewstone
I. — Fresh recruits and hard work — Islanders improved by
service — Contrast presented in Aneiteum I. — On to the Red-
lick Is. — Natives alarmed by false reports — Entering the
barrier reef — The Calvados Chain — Coral Haven — Report
of an affray — Native fishermen — Curious trap- nets — How
made — Weapons and houses — Canoes — Character of the
people — " Scaly- skin " — A white man infected — Formation
of the Louisiades— Mount Rattlesnake — Sam meets his long-
lost brother — Native excursionists — Nicholas Ministers
stories — Turning homeward — Bad qualities of the Lizzie —
Arrival in Cleveland Bay — A Royal Commission — Affray
at Mackay betiveen colonists and Kanakas — The stirrup-iron
as a weapon.

AFTER leaving the hospital, a few weeks' holiday, to-
gether with good feeding, made me, if not " as fit as a
fiddle" after the shaking I had experienced, at any rate
fit enough to take another command in the labour trade.
For this I had not long to wait.

The Ltzzie — hitherto a barquentine, but now about to
be altered into a brigantine — owned by Messrs. Burns,
Philp & Co., was lying at Townsville, and was in want
of a master. The command of her was offered to me,
and I accepted it towards the end of November. A
month had to be spent in port, however, before I was
ready for sea. During that time, the vessel's mizzen-
mast was removed. A new mainmast, eight feet longer

3io THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

than the old one, was put in also. A mainboom, more
than half the length of the hull, was shipped aft. This
stretched a mainsail and gaff topsail, containing nearly as
much canvas as all her other sails put together.

The Lizzie was the worst old " ballahoe " for sailing
that I ever put my foot on board of. I have got eight
knots out of her running, but " on a wind " she was
nowhere, especially with a strong sea, when she would
pitch up into the wind and then tumble off two or three
points, enough to drive the helmsman mad !

Owing to a recent proclamation of the Government,
forbidding us to supply the islanders with firearms as
" trade," when recruiting, my owners and I had grave
doubts as to whether natives of the New Hebrides or
the Solomon Is. could now be induced to join. Smooth-
bore muskets, very often even Snider rifles, had become
the most common form of present, or " pay," to the
friends of intending recruits. It seemed to me pretty
certain that I should have to cruise about a long time in
my old hunting grounds before the natives became re-
'conciled to the new law. And this more particularly,
because, of course, the regulation would not affect the
action of French and German vessels. So, for a time,
the New Hebrides and the Solomon Is. were likely to
yield no recruits to us.

New Britain and New Ireland were also barred. It
had been averred that the natives of these islands were
an undesirable class of labourers. New Guinea was like-
wise forbidden as a recruiting ground. Nothing had
been said, however, against the group of islands south-
east of it, the Louisiade Archipelago, which had been
hitherto unvisited by labour vessels. There the natives
were not acquainted with the use of firearms, though to
some extent accustomed to white men, beche-de-mer
collectors. chiefly. So I resolved to go thither.

I sailed from Townsville on December 22. Running
northward along the coast, I passed through the Great

THE "EILEEN" AND HER SKIPPER. 311

Barrier by the Flora Pass, in latitude 17° S., steering
thence to Teste, a small island about forty miles from
the south-east point of New Guinea, lying within the
chain of barrier reefs which encloses nearly all the is-
lands of the Louisiade Archipelago. On the morning
of January i, 1884, we sighted Suckling Reef in this
chain, and, passing eastward of it, entered within the
barrier and anchored on the northern side of Teste I.

This island, the native name of which is Wari, is about
three miles long by half a mile wide. It is lofty, with
sharp serrated peaks. On its western shore there is a
Protestant mission, where a Polynesian teacher and his
wife were living. I engaged four of the natives there as
boatmen, two of them to serve as interpreters also.
They had a very fair knowledge of English, considering
that they had never visited any of the colonies, and that
their only instructors had been the beche-de-mer collectors
who have frequented the group for years. Concerning
their treatment of the natives, especially towards the
south-eastern end of the Archipelago, we heard of
atrocities worse than anything related of labour recruiters.

At the time of this visit, the mission teacher at Teste
I. was very sick, and seemed to be in a bad way. The
G.A. and I did the best we could for him, and supplied
him with medicine. Whether he eventually recovered
or not, I am unable to say.

The Eileen, cutter, came to an anchor off the mission
while I was there. She was owned and commanded by
an Austrian, Herr Nicholas Minister, and was engaged
in the beche-de-mer trade.

Captain Minister dined with me on board the Lizzie
the day I met him. During my present voyage he had
neither time nor opportunity to do me any harm. When
I next visited the Archipelago, however, I found he had
assiduously spread false reports among the natives con-
cerning the Queensland labour trade. He had even
told them that many would be eaten in Queensland,

312 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

while few, if any, would ever find an opportunity of re-
turning to their homes. He had several fishing stations
on the eastern islands, especially in Saint Aignan, Sudest,
Renard and Joannet Is. At this time he had probably
more influence over these savages than any other
European.

I lay at Teste I. one night only, getting under way
again next morning. I then steered eastward, with my
new interpreters on board, making for the Calvados
chain. This is a line of twenty or thirty small islands
and islets, lofty and rugged in contour. The chain
stretches for fifty miles in length, and lies eighty or
ninety miles east of Teste I.

We passed the first night, after leaving Teste, at anchor
near the Kossman Is., halfway to the chain ; the next
near Real I. So dangerous and intricate is the naviga-
tion within the barrier reef of the Louisiade, that it was
absolutely necessary always to anchor before nightfall.

My first recruits were obtained at Mewstone I. The
interpreters I had engaged proved themselves thoroughly
competent to make the natives understand what we re-
quired, as also what would be expected of such as might
be engaged. The first two or three were spoken to in
my presence by the interpreters, and I am certain that
they thoroughly understood how long they were to
remain in Queensland, what kind of work they were to
engage in, and, as near as they could be made to com-
prehend it, what return they would receive for their
services. This, I say, in spite of the report to the con-
trary formulated by a Royal Commission in the year
following.

One thing I admit : I do not suppose these men had
ever undertaken what we call a hard day's work. They
had never had any opportunity of gaining such experi-
ence. So, no doubt, they afterwards repented having
left their homes, and their easy, slothful life, when they
found out what work reallv meant.

ISLANDERS IMPROVED BY SERVICE. 313

A " Queen-streeter " — a Brisbane politician — to whom
I once made a similar statement of this matter, said that,
under such circumstances, I had done wrong in bringing
these natives away from their islands, morally, if not
legally.

Now, I explained to them, through competent inter-
preters, what they had to expect on their arrival in
Queensland. They knew well enough that they had had
no experience of the work that would be required of
them, but they expressed themselves as being willing to
chance that. They engaged themselves, of their own
free will, to go to Queensland. So much for my legal
right, now for the moral view.

By taking these men away from their island, and from
a life of sloth, brutality, and cannibalism, they are im-
proved intellectually, as well as physically, through con-
tact with Europeans. It is said that they pick up the
white man's vices. So they may, but a returned island
labourer would look with contempt and aversion on the
average Aneiteum native, with his thin veneer of Chris-
tianity.

As I have before stated, Aneiteum has been under the
sway of Presbyterian missionaries for about thirty years.
Now, it has not been either- war, emigration, or disease
that has caused a diminution of numbers there. On the
contrary, peace, idleness, and licentious habits have con-
tributed to make the population dwindle away to a mere
fraction of what it was.

To change an islander into a decent citizen of the
world, he must be forced to work for his living after his
dancing and fighting have been stopped. If he is allowed
to remain idle, he becomes a very much worse subject-
morally and physically, Christian or pagan — than the raw
savage.

Passing through the chain, from Mewstone I. we next
went to the Redlick Is., which are three in number, lying
twelve or thirteen miles further north. On the north-

314 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

west of the Redlicks, a larger island, called Deboyne,
was laid down on the charts in use at that time. But, in
reality, Deboyne and the Redlicks are one and the same.
About nine miles beyond the Redlicks lies the large
mountainous island of Saint Aignan, which I did not visit
on this voyage.

The Redlicks lie at the western end of a small atoll
or ring reef. I sailed into the lagoon enclosed within
this reef, anchoring at first on the northern side of Warri
I., and afterwards on its south-western shore. I recruited
ten men at the first anchorage ; but a scare arose amongst
the crowd on shore, which spread to the new recruits,
who were frightened by some bogus story about the
cannibalistic tastes of white men. Consequently, when
we came to our second anchorage, nine men jumped
overboard one night, to swim ashore. We recovered
five of them.

I left the Redlick atoll by a passage through the
northern side of the reef, and stood to the east for about
a dozen miles. Coming to Bass' islets, I found a broad
passage through the northern barrier of the Archipelago.
Standing close in to the outer end of this channel, I
could see from aloft that it was not very deep in some
places, so I pointed the ship's head out again, northward.
The ebb tide, however, was running through southward,
at a tremendous rate ; and, although the south-westerly
breeze was in my favour, and the old tub going five
knots through the water, I found myself driving stern
first through the channel to windward. So, to make the
best of an apparently bad job, I hauled the ship up on the
wind, and in a quarter of an hour, got a mile and a half
to windward, through the passage and inside the barrier.

I worked the whole length of the chain along its
northern side for recruits, with fair success, although
these small islands are very thinly populated. I then
spent two or three days in Joannet Harbour, a bay on
the southern side of Joannet I.

REPORT OF AN AFFRAY. 315

At Grass I., which is close to Joannet, we met some
natives who could speak English. Three of them, named
Dixon, Sandfly, and Bihia, had been in the employment
of the beche-de-mer collectors, and I believe had visited
Cooktown, in Northern Queensland. Sandfly stated that
he had been employed for some time on board H.M.S.
Sandfly, after which vessel he had been named. These
men were easily engaged, Dixon and Sandfly serving me
as interpreters in the eastern part of the Archipelago.

From Joannet Harbour I went to Coral Haven, on the
east of Joannet and the north of Sudest I. There we
heard of a three-masted vessel, said to be then lying out-
side the barrier. Her boats had visited Sudest and the
smaller islands, and had taken away a good many men.
This vessel afterwards turned out to have been the
barquentine Ceara, Captain Inman, bound for Towns-
ville.

At the same place we heard of a three-masted vessel
which had passed through the Archipelago a few days
before us, engaging natives for someplace unknown. At
Grass I. her people had had an affray with the natives.
This could not have been a Queensland labour ship ; for
the Ceara and the Lizzie were the first two vessels from
that colony which visited the Louisiade in search of
" recruits." The Ceara, which had three masts, was
never within the barrier reef of the Archipelago, or we
should have seen her.

Nicholas Minister also heard this story, and sent a
report of it to Mr. MacFarlane, the missionary. Sus-
picion fell on the Ceara, and inquiry into the matter was
instituted in the following July, by Mr. Morey, police
magistrate at Townsville.

After leaving Coral Haven, I visited Briarly I.
Thence I coasted along the south of Sudest I. as far as
a deep bay west of Conde Point, the southern extremity
of the island.

On our way, I had an opportunity of seeing a mode

316 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

of netting fish that was new to me. Being becalmed
one afternoon for a few hours, near Briarly I., we had
been obliged to anchor in very deep water. About half
a mile from the ship there lay a solitary canoe, with three
men and a boy in her engaged in fishing. After about
two hours' work, they came alongside, and sold me a
hundred and sixty-five fish, averaging three quarters of a
pound each. Besides these, they retained about a dozen
for their own consumption. I bought at the rate of one
stick of twist tobacco (eighteen sticks to the pound) for
eleven fish, the whole lot for elevenpence-halfpenny. I
also bought two of the three nets they had in the canoe.

FISHING-NETS — LOU1SIADE ARCHIPELAGO.

Each of these was about three feet square, being dis-
tended by two diagonal sticks under the net, seized
together at right angles to each other. One of the
sticks was firmly attached to two opposite corners of the
net, but the ends of the other stick could be easily de-
tached from the corners by a sharp jerk of the hauling-
line. The two legs of this line were made fast to the
respective corners of the net, but not to the cross-stick.
It was brought up through a loop in the middle of another
short piece of line, the ends of which were fastened to
the other stick at the corners.

The bait — usually a piece of squid or cuttle-fish, with

WEAPONS AND HOUSES. 317

a stone as a sinker — was attached on top to the centre of
the net. Possibly the fishermen feel the fish dragging at
the bait, but I imagine they have to trust to chance a
good deal. A sharp jerk of the hauling-line frees the
net from one of the sticks, and running up through the
loop, doubles up the net, enclosing in it whatever fish
may have been engaged with the bail.

The fish I bought on this occasion had been caught in
eighteen fathoms of water. These nets, as also seines
I have purchased at different times, are very neatly
made of fine twine, spun or twisted from the bark of
some tree unknown to me. The seines are twenty or
thirty yards in length, and three or four feet deep. They
have light wooden floats, and shells as sinkers.

Among the curios I purchased here were many stone-
headed axes. These consist of a wedge of "green-
stone " lashed on to a wooden crook, with more or less
rude carving at the angle. The wedges varied from four
to seven inches in length, and are not quite so broad.
Such axes, together with spears and rude clubs, were al
the offensive weapons I saw in these islands. Appar-
ently the natives possessed neither bows, arrows, nor
slings.

The houses in this part of the Louisiade are con-
structed differently from those on Teste I. and its neigh-
bours. The last are shaped something after European
models. They are situated in damp places, often over
the water, and are elevated on piles, with the ends of the
roofs peaked up. A similar fashion prevails in Strong's
I., or Kusaie, the easternmost of the Caroline group. But
in the islands of the Calvados chain, and in Sudest I.,
the houses look like so many gigantic cockroaches. A
long narrow floor, about twenty feet by seven, is elevated
on piles, four or five feet high. This is covered over
with a thatched roof, too low to admit of the inmates
standing upright under it.

Their canoes appear to be the most valuable property

3'8

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the natives possess. They are sufficiently large to carry
a score of men, and are often profusely ornamented at
the ends with rude carving. They are furnished with
the usual outrigger, and are propelled by paddles, or by
a long narrow mat sail with rounded ends, which is
hoisted diagonally when " on a wind," and horizontally
when running before it.

The natives themselves are a poor lot — cowardly,
treacherous, and not at all a robust race. Apparently
they are of mixed origin, as I noticed several cases of
straight hair and Malayan features amongst them.

They are much afflicted with a scrofulous skin disease,
commonly called " scaly-skin." I fancy it is a kind of

NATIVE HOUSES— LOUISIAUE ARCHIPELAGO.

ringworm. It is an eruption of small, dry, horny scales.
These may be removed, to some extent, by rubbing with
sand, but they soon appear again. The disease some-
times affects portions of the body, more often the whole
of it. Sufferers from it present a most repulsive appear-
ance. The older navigators generally ascribed it to
kava-drinking ; but, in my experience, it has been most
noticeable on islands where the kava plant is unknown,
— namely, in the Loaisiade, the Marshall, and the Kings-
mill groups. From what I have gathered of the social
habits of South Sea Islanders, 1 am disposed to attribute
it to inter-breeding.

3'9

SAWS LONG LOST BROTHER. 321

The disease is slightly contagious. A white man,
with whom I was for some time intimate in the Marshall
group, had a "scaly" mistress, and he contracted the
disease. It left him, however, soon after he discontinued
the connection.

The islands are hilly, but of moderate height. The
rock formation most noticeable is mica schist, with here
and there basalt. In Sudest, Joannet, and Pig Is., there
are large quartz reefs. These are generally of the white,
" milky " variety, which is least promising for gold.
Since I was there, gold has been found in small quanti-
ties, however, on Sudest I. The Louisiades compare
unfavourably, as regards fertility, with the New Hebrides
and Solomon Is., and the rather sparse population de-
pends greatly on fish as a means of subsistence.

In Conde Bay — we gave it that name as it lies close
under Conde Point — I managed to get sufficient water to
fill up the tanks, though of very poor quality. There is a
good watering creek on the north of the island, where a
stream runs down from Mt. Rattlesnake, a lofty peak
near the centre of the island. I was ignorant of the
existence of this stream then.

My principal Teste interpreter, Sam, discovered along
lost relative here, his brother. A canoe, containing
about a dozen men, came alongside, soon after I anchored.
Sam, looking over the side at it, suddenly ejaculated
something in his native language. A youth in the canoe,
looking up, answered him, and an earnest conversation
ensued. Then the man in the boat climbed up on board.
He was Sam's brother, and they had not seen each other
for a dozen years or so.

More than twelve years before this, Sam's father had
taken him, then about five years old, with a party that
had set forth from Teste on a voyage. Heaven knows
whither, or for what purpose they went ; but I suppose
these islanders occasionally feel, like ourselves, a desire
to see somewhat of the world beyond their own little

Y

322 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

islands. They reached Sudest I., where the men of the
party were killed and eaten. The child was spared, and
was adopted by the Sudest people who had devoured his
father and friends.

The meeting of the brothers was a fortunate occurrence
for me. For the younger brother wanted to get away on
any terms. So, in five minutes, his name was on my
recruit list, and his example produced a large follow-
ing.

I went no further eastward on this voyage, but turned
back, with a light south-easter, and worked slowly along
the southern islands of the chain. At Grass I. the
natives seemed less friendly than they had been before.
Nicholas Minister, or some of his men, had been there
since, telling outrageous stories of the bad treatment the
natives would receive if they went to Queensland ; so all
our endeavours to obtain more recruits were of no avail.
Here and there canoes came alongside, those in them
spinning yarns to the recruits, who evidently did not
relish them. There appeared to be a strong proba-
bility that some of them would desert, if they got a
chance.

One evening, I anchored somewhere near the middle
of the Chain, and, from a small island near the ship, I
obtained one man, making up a total of a hundred and
twenty-six recruits. This was far short of my licensed
number ; but, so far, I had made a prosperous voyage.
So, being rather doubtful of my good luck continuing
much longer, next morning I hove up the anchor and
steered for Jomard Passage, in the southern barrier, en
route for Townsville.

When clear of the reefs, I hauled up on the port tack,
with a fresh south-easter ; and then the old Lizzie showed
her weatherly qualities in a sea-way. Three knots an hour
ahead and three points leeway — now luffing up into the
wind and then tumbling off a couple of points — did not
look well for getting to windward of the Lihou Reefs.

AFFRAY ON MACK AY RACECOURSE. 3^3

Luckily, the north-west monsoon was occasionally
making itself felt. Every now and again the wind
chopped round from south-east to north-west, helping me
to make some easting. Anyhow, we blundered along
until we just scraped round the eastern end of Lihou
Reef, and then, the trade coming steady and strong, I
squared away for Flinders Passage in the Great Barrier.
After spending one rough, dirty night at anchor, under
the lee of one of the reefs, I brought up in Cleveland
Bay, off my port, on February 17, 1884. The Ceara
had arrived a day or two before me.

The whole of my recruits, after being examined by
the immigration agent as to the manner of their engage-
ment and the terms of their agreement, were sent to
work on Hamleigh Plantation. They remained there
only about sixteen months, and were then sent back
home in the s.s. Victoria. For a Royal Commission was
appointed early in 1885, under the Griffith Ministry, to
inquire into the circumstances connected with the re-
cruiting. It came to the conclusion that these labourers
had all been obtained by " fraud or force." Of this
matter more anon.

Shortly after my departure from Townsville on this
voyage, an occurrence took place at Mackay, which may
be worth mentioning. At the races (December 26) some
Kanakas, employed on the neighbouring plantations, were
refused drink — according to law — at Dimmock's booth.
They retaliated by throwing bottles, and such other mis-
siles as came handy, at the people on the course, from
the outside of the surrounding fence. The whites, of

o

whom a great number were mounted, attacked them in
turn, and easily drove them away.

The " Anti-Kanakaite " party have never lost an
opportunity of accusing their opponents of cruelty to
South Sea Islanders. On this occasion, the white
belligerents were mostly Anti-Kanakaites, and they
abundantly proved what sort of sympathy they had for

324 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

their coloured brethren. The favourite weapon with
them that day was a stirrup-iron, swung by its leather
— an ugly weapon in the hands of a good rider. Several
Kanakas had to be taken to the hospital at the end of
the fray. One of them shortly after died from the effects
of a " blow from a bottle ! " More likely it was a blow
from a stirrup-iron !

CHAPTER XX.

SECOND VOYAGE OF THE LIZZIE, 1884.

I sail for the Louisiade — The Lizzie springs a leak — I put into
Cairns — Cockroaches — Repairs effected — Reach Teste I, — A
mission teacher's wife — No interpreters — By order of the
missionary — Active opposition — Kidnapping ! — Moresby 1. —
The recruiter s enemies — Nicholas Minister s stories — Nor-
manby I. — Natives eager to recruit — Back to Townsville —
Resignation — The Stanley kidnapping case — German Charley
prevents recruiting — Burning of Jiuts — Prosecution of Davis
and McMurdo — They are sent to Fiji — Tried and condemned
— Released and complimented — Hernsheim " compensated "-
Policy of the Government — The new Amendment Act —
Painting ships and boats — Deserters not to be recovered —
Arrival of the Lochiel — Wreck of the Alfred Vittery—
Rowan and King sentenced for kidnapping — Return of the
Heath — I take command of her — Proceedings of her G.A. —
I appear in court — The Ceara case— Report of Mr. Morey,
P.M. — No evidence of kidnapping.

AFTER lying for nearly a month in port, refitting and
procuring fresh licences, I put to sea once more on March
14, bound for the Louisiade Archipelago. Passing out
through the Great Barrier, as on my last voyage, by the
F'lora Passage, I cleared the reefs during the evening,
and all the following night the old Lizzie rolled and
tumbled in a heavy cross sea, with a fresh breeze from
east-south-east.

About midnight the mate called me up, reporting that
the ship was making a great deal of water. In fact, the
lee side of the lower deck was all afloat. Both pumps
were immediately set going ; but the hands had four
hours' hard jogging before the weather one "sucked."

326 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

In the meantime I searched about for the leak, ex-
pecting to find it somewhere between wind and water,
but without success. As soon as it was daylight, I
steered back westward, repassing the Barrier by a small
and tortuous channel a few miles south of Trinity
Opening. That evening I anchored off Trinity Inlet,
the port of Cairns.

I remained there a week, with the vessel on the
" hard," and her rudder unshipped. The leak was dis-
covered in her rudder trunk, and, in smooth water,
would have been a few inches above the surface. This
helped me to a "wrinkle." The cockroaches that
swarmed on board had eaten an oval hole right through
the white pine casing of the rudder trunk. I have often
heard of rats causing leaks, but never before of cock-
roaches doing so. In the lazaret there was a water-tank,
built of yellow pine. The vermin had paid attention to
this, also. Several of its planks were completely hollowed
out by them, only a thin shell remaining. The damage
to the rudder trunk was soon made good, and the rudder
itself also repaired before it was again hung.

I put to sea again from Cairns on April 3. Clearing
the Barrier by way of Trinity Opening, I steered as
before for Teste I., where I anchored about four days
later. There I landed the men who had served me as
interpreters during my last voyage, together with their
boxes, containing goods they had purchased in Towns-
ville. I also paid a visit to the teacher's wife, who
appeared to be the ruling spirit on the island, hoping to
engage some more boys to serve as boatmen and inter-
preters.

The coffee-coloured dame received me with much
apparent friendliness. She expressed great pleasure at
the safe return of the interpreters, as also in regard to
the quantity of " trade " they had been able to purchase
with their earnings. I have no doubt she came in for a
considerable share of it, for I saw the boxes carefully

BY ORDER OF THE MISSIONARY.

327

carried into her own house, and stowed away there for
future examination.

In order to propitiate this old lady still more, I made
her a considerable present, comprising many fathoms of
coloured print calicoes, beads, tobacco, pipes, etc. As
soon as these had been safely stowed away, however, she
changed her tune, glumly informing me that, by order
of the missionary, no boys were to be allowed to leave
the island, either as interpreters or as recruits.

This was a knock for me, for I was obliged, by Queens-
land law, to provide interpreters, not only when engaging
men, but also on arrival in the colony. She would not
even allow any of the natives to assist in pulling the
boat back to the ship. For there was a stiff breeze

to contend with, and I had only a white man and a New
Hebridean with me at the time. I obtained one man,
however, in the evening — a runaway.

Next morning, as the chain was being taken in, and
sail being made, in order to leave the island, a large
canoe, manned by natives belonging to the mission — a
fact made apparent by the shirts and calico waist-cloths
they sported — passed near us. The design of these
people was, evidently, to attend on the ship and prevent
me from obtaining recruits. I allowed them to run
ahead of me for some little distance, until I saw that I
could barely fetch the eastern point of Moresby I. on the

328 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

port tack. Then I hauled up sharp to northward, and,
having the weather-gauge of them by a good mile, came
to an anchor in Pitt Bay, Moresby I. I had lain there
an hour or more, with my boats working along-shore,
before the canoe arrived, its occupants tired out with
hard paddling in their heavy craft, dead to windward.

While passing through the channel between Moresby
and Kitai — the next island to eastward — I picked up a
man who was swimming off to the ship with the aid of
a log of wood. As soon as he got on deck, he signified
to the man I had engaged at Teste, that he desired to
engage as a recruit for Queensland. One would have
thought this was fair enough recruiting. Strange to say
— that is, strange to the uninitiated — the Royal Com-
mission in Queensland, a year later, declared that this
recruit had been obtained by unfair means — that is, that
he was kidnapped ! !

I spent some three or four days at Moresby I., and
picked up a few recruits, notwithstanding the efforts ot
the mission party. These carefully attended on my
boat, watching all her movements. I was sadly ham-
pered for want of efficient boatmen to man both boats,
having only a crew for one. However, the day I left
Pitt Bay, I fell in with the Ceara, bound for Townsville,
full of recruits. By offering increased pay, I managed to
induce four of her boatmen to leave her and join the
Lizzie. Captain Inman consented to the arrangement,
as he no longer needed their services. Being thus
properly manned, I indulged the hope of making as good
a voyage as my last one. But in this I was soon to be
wofully disappointed.

In the interval that had elapsed since my last visit to
the Louisiade, our opponents — the missionaries and the
beche-de-mer collectors — had not been idle. At every
mission station at this end of the Archipelago, the native
teachers were on the alert, endeavouring to prevent men
from leaving. Canoes attended on my boats — generally

NATIVES EAGER TO RECRUIT. 329

preceding them — every time they visited the shore.
Further eastward, Nicholas Minister, the beche-de-mer
trader, appeared to have visited every island, spreading
all sorts of malicious reports as to our treatment of
labourers in Queensland, and the extreme improbability
that recruits would ever see their homes again, if they
ventured to go there. It was even said that we took
men away for the purpose of killing and eating them.
This would not seem such a very ridiculous story to the
natives, who are all rank cannibals.

After working the northern coasts of Moresby,
Basilisk, and Hayter Is., I steered for the East Cape of
New Guinea. I then crossed over Goschen Strait to
Normanby I., a large, mountainous, thickly populated
island. There a few more men were obtained — all
runaways from their friends. For, notwithstanding the
reports that had been so industriously circulated as to
our evil intentions, numbers of the younger people were
willing to try their luck in Queensland. I feel certain
that, if all who wished to leave had been able to o-et on

o

board, I might have made up my full complement at
this island alone.

The Royal Commission of 1885 was of opinion that
the few recruits who joined me here, as well as at other
islands of the Archipelago, were obtained by unfair
means, and, in some cases, were even forcibly kidnapped.
If I had adopted such practices, I could easily have filled
the ship out of the numbers of canoes that flocked around
and lay alongside of her.

I then visited Evans and Woodlark Is., next working
St. Aignan and the south-eastern portion of the Archi-
pelago, but with very poor success. Nicholas Minister
had made the place " too hot " for me. At one time I
thought of making for the Solomons or the New Heb-
rides ; but my stores were running short, and the Lizzie
was such a tub in a sea-way that I deemed it advisable
to return toTownsville with the sixty-seven recruits I had

330 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

already engaged. I arrived there on June 2, and resigned
command of the vessel, disgusted with her performances
and with my o\vn bad luck. The Lizzie was soon after
sold to a Sydney firm, and was never again employed in
the labour trade.

Some little time before I sailed on the last voyage,
and during my absence, the case of the Stanley had been
before the courts. It attracted the attention of all who
were interested in the labour trade. Durino- the last

o

voyage of the Stanley, when her career was terminated
on Indispensable Reef, in July, 1884, she had visited
the Laughlan Is., east of New Guinea, while proceed-
ing to New Ireland. Some men had been engaged
there, but were allowed to remain on shore for a night,
before the vessel sailed again, to bid farewell to their
friends.

There was a German trading station on these islands,
belonging to Hernsheim & Co. A man, who was com-
monly known as German Charley, was the sole resident
European at this time. According to native evidence
given at the trial, he persuaded the recruits not to keep
to their bargain, although their friends had received
presents of considerable value from the master of the
Stanley.

Finding that the recruits did not rejoin the ship at the
time appointed, Captain Davis, and Mr. McMurdo, G.A.,
left the ship with their boats' crews, all armed, as usual.
As they approached the shore, a shot was fired at them
from the German's hut. None of the recruits turning up
when they landed, several native huts were burnt, and
with them the thatched huts belonging to the German.
Two natives were taken away from the island in the
Stanley, presumably against their will.

The first notice of this case I had was contained in
"The Brisbane Courier" for April 4, 1884. It was therein
stated that on the day previous, at the City Police Court,
Joseph Griffith Davis, late master of the Stanley, and

TRIAL OF DAVIS AND MCMURDO. 331

William A. McMurdo, G.A., were charged on remand,
on the information of Chas. Colville Horrocks, acting
immigration agent, with having kidnapped two islanders,
Sea Whimp and Namee, on April 17, 1883, on the
high seas near the Laughlan Is. in the Pacific Ocean.
The case was further remanded five times to enable the
prosecution to obtain witnesses.

Finally, the prosecution was dropped by the Queens-
land Government. The prisoners, Davis and McMurdo,
were handed over to the Imperial authorities, and on
June 1 8 they were sent on board H.M.S. Raven and
transferred to Fiji. There they were tried in the Court
of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific — the
Governor of Fiji.

By this court, held at Suva, the official capital, on
August 6 following, the prisoners were found guilty,
and were sentenced to three months' imprisonment,
without labour. A week after the trial they were re-
leased by order of the High Commissioner, Sir William
Des Vceux. McMurdo was even complimented by the
High Commissioner for the energy he displayed when
the Stanley was wrecked. Sir William Des Vceux also
headed a subscription that was got up for their benefit
with " a respectable amount."

The High Commissioner was apparently of opinion
that the treatment of the prisoners by the Queensland
Government had been quite sufficient punishment for
what little harm they had done. A large indemnity was
paid to Hernsheim & Co. by the Queensland Govern-
ment, to compensate them for the destruction of their
thatched huts and the small quantity of copra they had
in store.

Messrs. Hernsheim & Co. must have made money
by this affair. I have been assured by men who knew
the Laughlan Is., and the trading station there, that the
whole establishment and stock was not worth a twenty-
pound note. When I visited the island in 1884, there

332 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

was no resident trader there. It was too poor to support
one.

I do not remember the amount of the indemnity
demanded by the German firm, but I know it was
excessive. However, it appears to have been paid
without question. The Queensland Ministry of the
day were pledged to suppress the trade ; so the bigger
the indemnity, the worse they could make it for their
opponents. The expense they afterwards incurred by
chartering the s.s. Victoria to take back four hundred
and four natives of New Guinea and the Louisiade to
their homes was, no doubt, a similar bit of policy.

The Act to amend the Pacific Island Labour Act
of 1880, assented to March 10, 1884, was now in full
force. It contained many important additions to the
original Act ; among these was a regulation obliging
all vessels engaged in recruiting for Queensland to carry
a black ball at the mast-head, and to be painted a dull
slate colour, with a black " ribbon." Surely these were
the most uninviting colours that could well have been
chosen. The " dull slate colour" looked tolerably decent
and cool when fresh laid on, but, after a month's cruise,
iron-rust and dirt rendered it anything but pleasant to
look at. The black band only made it more sombre and
repelling. The boats were to be painted red ; an old
fashion among Queensland vessels. Subsequently,
French and German ships cruising in the New Hebrides
and the Solomon Is. also took to carrying red-painted
boats, with which they could pass themselves off as
coming from Queensland.

Masters were mostly troubled, however, by the regu-
lation with regard to deserters. No deserter was to be
retaken. An islander might now engage to come to
Queensland, get " trade " to the value of a pound or two,
give it to his friends, cadge all he could get on board,
and then coolly walk or swim ashore. There was one
grain of comfort for the master, however. The law did

THE "FOREST KING" CASE. 333

not oblige him to assist the " unwilling recruit" in getting
ashore.

On March 20, the dismasted labour barquentine,
Lochiel, arrived at the Burnett River Heads, with the
crew of the labour schooner Alfred Vittery on board.
The last-named vessel had been wrecked in the begin-
ning of February, at Kaan I., near the eastern coast of
New Ireland, having drifted ashore during a calm.

After rescuing the crew of the schooner, the Lochiel
had spoken the Wilhelmina Frederika, labour brigantine,
at Hardy I. in the same neighbourhood. Mr. Rowe,
G.A., and the second mate of the brigantine had both
been severely tomahawked in a skirmish with natives.
The former was brought home in the Lochiel, the G. A.
belonging to the wrecked Alfred Vittery taking his
place. In consequence of his injuries, Mr. Rowe became
an inmate of a lunatic asylum.

At the City Police Court, Brisbane, on May i,
Francis Rowan, boatswain, and John McLean, A.B.,
late of the Forest King, were committed for trial, charged
with having kidnapped six natives at Fischer I. On
June 4 they were found guilty, and were each sen-
tenced to three years' imprisonment, the first year in
irons.

Towards the end of May, the barquentine Heath,
Captain Findlay, Mr. Duffield, G.A., arrived at Mackay.
She had sixty-three male recruits and thirty-one females
on board. These were all from the smaller islands
lying near the eastern coast of New Ireland. Now,
whether Captain Findlay had done wrong in taking
these people, without their having thoroughly compre-
hended the agreement they signed, or, rather, put their
"marks" to, or whether the G.A. had purposely mis-
led the master, I cannot say.

When I went to Mackay, in the beginning of July, to
take command of the Heath, I found the recruits all in
good health. Though cooped up on board, and not per-

334 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

mitted to land, they were "as jolly as sandboys." They
seemed quite willing to go to the plantations, while the
planters were just as ready to engage them. Yet, as the
sub-immigration agent of the port informed me, no
competent interpreter could be found to explain the
terms of engagement to them. So it had been ordained
that all of them should be returned to their homes
forthwith.

It appeared to me that the G.A. had led the master
to think that he was satisfied with the engagement of
these men. But, while allowing him to ship them, he
had put off giving Captain Findlay the requisite certifi-
cates. On arrival at Mackay, he — Mr. Dufifield — had
turned round on Findlay, denouncing his recruiting as
illegal. It looked to me as if the whole proceeding of
the G.A. was nothing else than a deliberate trap for the
master. Findlay was debarred employment in the trade,
for a while ; and Duffield was not again employed by
the Government in the capacity of Government agent.

Before I joined the Heath as master, I was engaged
as a witness on an inquiry held by Mr. Morey, Police
Magistrate, at Townsville, in consequence of reports
emanating from Nicholas Minister, the beche-de-mer
collector.

I subjoin Mr. Morey's Report as it appeared in " The
Brisbane Courier." It will be seen from this that Mr.
Morey examined several of the recruits who had been
brought by the Lizzie and by the Ceara, as a result of the
first voyages of these vessels to the Louisiade ; that the
recruits had no complaint to make as to the mode of
recruiting, or as to the time they were to serve in
Queensland. Mr. Morey was certainly much more
competent to cross-question these recruits than were the
three members of the " Royal Commission," who, the
following year, declared that all these men had been
kidnapped, or had been persuaded by falsehoods to
leave their homes.

MR. MOREY'S OFFICIAL REPORT. 335

Here is the report :—

The Police Magistrate, Tcwnsville^ to the Colonial Secretary.

TOWNSVILLE, \st July, 1884.

SIR, — I have now the honour to submit a report, as directed, with
reference to the operations of the labour vessel Ceara, during her cruise
for labour in January and part of February last, among the islands of
the Louisiade Group, and to furnish the evidence taken before me
during the inquiry.

Before commencing any inquiry I carefully read and noted the
contents of the respective log-books of the Lizzie and Ceara, kept by
the Government agents during their first visit to that group in January
and February last.

And in this connection I may say that the entries in the log-books
agree in the main with the answers given to my questions respecting
the dates when recruiting began, the number of recruits, the islands
from which obtained, and the size and population where known.

If, therefore, the answers given to my questions were untrue, or
coloured to make out a good case, then the log-books must have been
falsified throughout.

The charge is, that, some short time prior to the i8th March, a large
three-masted ship had visited Roussel, Sud-Est, and several smaller
islands, and taken away nearly all the males by driving them forcibly,
or by enticing them into the boats and carrying them away against their
will, the islands being nearly depopulated by the people of this three-
masted ship.

It appears from all the evidence I obtained that no Queensland
labour vessel had visited and recruited boys from the Louisiade Archi-
pelago prior to the visit of the Lizzie on the 4th January, and the Ceara
on the i4th of January.

The Lizzie is a schooner having two masts.

The Ceara is a three-masted barquentine.

The charge made can only apply, therefore, to the Ceara.

The Lizzie, Captain Wawn, began recruiting at Mewstone Island on
the 4th January, and continued it at various islands up to the loth
February. While she was at the Redlick Group (between the 4th and
1 2th January), the Lizzie got no recruits, as the natives were scared, and
said, "If men go, you make their hands fast."

And on the 1310 January, while at Grass Island, natives said that
" white man catch-em fish (beche-de-mer) had fired at them, and taken
their women."

Reports of outrages continued to be made to Captain Wawn at
various islands, particularly at several points of Sud-Est.

Now, the Ceara began her recruiting at Piron Island, close to Sud-
Est, on the i4th January. It is plain, therefore, that the outrages

336 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

reported to Captain Wawn up to that date (i^th January) could not be
charged against the Ceara.

And up to the iSth January, we have evidence that the Ceara was
obtaining boys by fair means, since a recruit obtained by the Lizzie
that day told Captain Wawn that the three-masted ship had obtained
a lot of boys at Sud-Est, and had given much more " trade " to them
than he (Wawn) was giving. Wawn then had to increase his presents,
so as to obtain recruits.

Coming now to the two large islands, Roussel and Sud-Est, said to
have been nearly depopulated by a three-masted ship (Ceara ?), I find
that the Ceara, between the i5th and iyth January, recruited some
twenty-five boys from Sud-Est.

But the Lizzie coming aftet her, namely, between the i8th January
and 3rd February, recruited ninety-three boys, mainly from the same
island. If, therefore, the Ceara had used violence or fraud in obtain-
ing her boys, it is hardly likely the Lizzie, coming just after her, could
have obtained so many.

I may mention that Sud-Est is a large island — about 140 miles
round — is populous and mountainous, and no labour ship could kidnap
its people as described in the charge made. Small islands might be
outraged in that way, but not populous and large ones.

The story of the three-masted ship (Ceara?} having nearly depopu-
lated Sud-Est is, therefore, not well founded.

At Roussel — the island particularized in the charge — the Ceara
obtained seventeen recruits ; the Lizzie did not call there. This island
also is a large one, but is reported as not populous.

I can find nothing in the evidence given, especially by the Roussel
boys themselves, or in the Ceara s log-book, to raise a doubt as to the
fair manner in which the boys were recruited. I was most careful to
ascertain what each boy received in the way of " trade " or bribe to
induce him to recruit, and to ascertain what he did with his " trade."

I may here mention that while the Ceara was recruiting at Roussel,
the natives complained of a brig, Captain Pryer, or Prior, having taken
people away against their will.

On the 3rd February, while the Lizzie was recruiting at Sud-Est,
Captain Wawn was told that a three-masted ship had lately passed
through (presumably among the islands), and had several Sud-Est
women on board.

On the 25th January the Ceara did obtain two recruits from Sud-Est,
but the Government agent, the recruiter, and master all say no women
were recruited or on board ; no women were seen, in fact. If any women
were kidnapped and brought aboard they must have been got rid of
before the ship arrived at Townsville. I may here mention that Captain
Inman's wife accompanied him during that voyage of the Ceara.

Another complaint was made against a three-masted ship by the

MR. MORELS OFFICIAL REPORT. 337

people of Grass Island, on the 8th February, to Captain Wawn. The
people told him the " ship had been fighting them."

But on the i4th January the people of the same island told Wawn
(on his first visit) that a beche-de-mer vessel had fired at them.

Now there is no evidence that the Ceara was at Grass Island. If,
however, outrages between the i4th January and 8th February were
committed, and by a three-masted vessel, then the charge points to the
Ceara, for we have no knowledge of any other three-masted ship being
in the neighbourhood.

Coming to the evidence I obtained from fourteen of the recruits from
Sud-Est, and from eight Roussel islanders, I may say that their state-
ments entirely bear out the evidence given by the Government agent,
the recruiter, and master of the Ceara as to the fair manner in which
these people were recruited. There is a discrepancy as to the names of
some of the boys, and name of island from which they came, but I
incline to believe that boys belonging to other islands were found at
and recruited from Sud-Est, the native name of which is Eaba.

I spent much time in unravelling the confused statements made in
reply to my questions, and committed to paper the substance only of
what I gathered.

I noticed that when a boy was being questioned as to what " trade "
he received, he would correct the interpreter, or rather would inform
him if he had received anything out of the usual trade — such as looking-
glasses, leggings, and so on.

Although I had to trust to the very imperfect translation of replies
to my questions by Pudow, a Kassaway Island native, my own inter-
preter being useless in the case of all save the Roussel Island boys, yet
I feel confident I caught the true intent and meaning of each boy I
questioned.

I could not obtain from any of the boys a definite answer as to the
remuneration they were to receive. I therefore confined my questions
to the main charge — namely, kidnapping.

That outrages of some kind — if not of kidnapping — had been perpe-
trated on most of the islands visited by the Lizzie and Ceara there can
be no doubt, for both those ships had reports made to them of ill-
treatment. In one instance the natives complained of a Captain Pryer,
or Prior, master of a beche-de-mer vessel. This is the same man who
took away a woman named Murdie from Eaba (Sud-Est). (See
evidence given by Jawille, a native of Eaba.)

There is a Captain Fryer, master of the beche-de-mer brig Julia M.
Avery, sailing out of Cooktown.

I learn further that George Rotumah, who took the news of the out-
rages to the Rev. Mr. Lawes, is connected with one Nicholas Minister,
master of the Eileen, beche-de-mer cutter, and is interested in her fishing.

And Captain Wawn says that lying reports of the doings and inten-

Z

338

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

tions of Queensland labour ships have been spread by beche-de-mer
people for selfish purposes, and that the alleged outrages by a three-
masted ship (Ceara) had its origin in that way.

I have thus far commented on the evidence at my command, and
now, in conclusion, do myself the honour to report that there is not the
slightest evidence to show the Ceara obtained any labourers on that voyage
by kidnapping.

Nor is there evidence to show she obtained recruits by any unfair
means or rf presentations. — I have, etc.,

EDMUND MOREY, Police Magistrate.

FISH-HOOKS—SOLOMON IS.

CHAPTER XXI.

VOYAGE OF THE HEATH, 1884.

/ sail from Mackay — Pass the Fanny at sea — Beating through
the Coral Sea — Jomard Passage — My sails — Dead reckon-
ing— Cape St. George— Landing "returns" — Getting their
" whack " — Excitement and pillage — Gerrit Denys and Fisher
Is. — Back to Coral Haven — Making a new mainsail — Work-
ing the Archipelago — Stone-throwing at Normanby I. — A
mission teacher joins, plunders me, and deserts — Teste I. —
The teacher's wife — Her wrath — No interpreters or recruits

— The Barrier Reef — Drifting — Getting within the reef —
Tlie Inner Route — / reach port — Bad JiealtJi — / go to
Melbourne — My manuscript — Return of the Hopeful — Her
ill-doings — False evidence of Kanakas — Material for tJie
Griffithites — Seizure of the Forest King — A " Christian "
Kanaka's evidence — Trial of Shaw, McNeil, and others —
Messia/is evidence — Political dodges — Report of the Minister
of Justice — Trial removed to Brisbane — Why — A witness
paid by the Government — Kanaka evidence — Sentences — The
Ceara — Effect of the firearms regulation — Natives incensed
— Murders of Booth and Cullen — Of Captain Frier and
others — Comparisons of English, French, and German policies
in the Western Pacific — General ScratcJdey's statement —
Article in "The Brisbane Courier" — The New Guinea
question — Tall talk — Treatment of savages — Cases in point

— The Miranda raid — Presbyterian missionaries — Fire-
arms sold to natives by French and Germans — Slavery at
Malay ta I.

I SAILED from Mackay in command of the Heath on
July 19, 1884. Running down the coast, northward, with
a fair breeze, I passed through the Great Barrier Reef
by Flinders' Passage, and so gained the open sea.

On my way I passed my old ship — the Fanny — now

340 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS,

under the command of Captain Lawrence, with whom
was Mr. Williams, G.A. She was bound into Mackay,
having only a few recruits — eight, I think — on board,
after having been out for six months. After this voyage
she was sold, and was not again employed in the labour
trade. I lost ^200 out of my interest in her.

I spent a day at anchor in Whit-Sunday Passage, on
the coast. I then filled my water- tanks at Hook I.,
and sailed through Flinders' Passage, as I have said.
Having cleared the Barrier, I hauled up sharp on the
starboard tack, hoping by so doing to get more quickly
clear of the numerous coral reefs and cays scattered
over this part of the Coral Sea. It was fortunate for
me that I did so ; for, after twenty-four hours' hammer-
ing into a head sea, I found myself only a few miles to
windward of Flinders' Reefs, and more than thirty miles
to leeward of where I thought I was. This was due to
the current, which sets to the north-west.

As soon as Flinders' Reefs were well on the lee
quarter, I kept the ship away, and, passing to leeward
of the Herald Cays, found myself next morning close
to two small reefs — one of which had a sandy cay on it
— about thirty miles west-north-west of Willis Reefs.

These two reefs were not marked on my chart. I
think it probable they may be the two that were seen
by Bougainville in 1 768, though reported by him to lie
further to the north-west.

Though now in clearer waters, I had lost a good deal
of my weather-gauge, and found myself unable to round
the Louisiade Archipelago. I therefore steered a
straight course for Jomard Passage, which I made soon
after sunrise one morning, getting through the reefs and
islands, and round the lee end of Saint Aignan I., before
dark. Next morning I was off the Laughlan Is., whence
I had a clear road and a fair wind for New Ireland.

The trade-wind, which had been steady and moderately
fresh, then became variable and squally. As the main-

DEAD RECKONING. 341

sail I had bent was old, and was supposed to be the
worst of the two on board, I thought it advisable to
bend the other. Unluckily, before we left Mackay, the
hands had been required for other work, in consequence
of which I had neglected to overhaul the spare sails,
relying on the former master's assertion that they were
all in good order, and that the mainsail, especially, was
a good one. He had said it was nearly new, and that it
had been bent only once, and then only for a week or
two. When the mate and the hands went below to
rouse it out of the sail-locker, however, they found it as
rotten as tinder. It would not even bear handlinof the

o '

canvas giving way as it was hauled on deck.

The locker was perfectly watertight, and I can only
surmise that the sail must have been stowed away when
damp. Of course it was useless ; not even fit for cutting
up into parcelling. So, now, I was in a nice fix, having
to depend solely on the old rag I had bent, with the
prospect before me of a tussle with northerly monsoon
weather in the latitude of New Ireland, and, perhaps,
of having to beat back home against the "trades."

o c>

Luckily, I had a good new mizzen, which might have
served on a pinch, instead of a reefed mainsail.

The day before we made New Ireland, the weather
was cloudy and wet. Being unable to take any observa-
tions to determine my exact position, I had to rely
solely on dead reckoning. This placed me, at noon,
about one hundred and twenty miles south-south-east
of Cape St. George — the southernmost point of New
Ireland. Relying on this reckoning, I steered to pass
about thirty miles east of the Cape. Next morning,
about 3 o'clock, the cry of " land, right ahead ! " brought
me on deck ; just after a stiff squall of wind and rain had
passed over the ship.

A dome-shaped mass loomed up, black, and un-
pleasantly near, through the tail end of the squall.
One look sufficed to assure me that I was quite thirty

342 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

miles to leeward of my reckoning, and running straight
down upon Cape St. George. To pass it to leeward
was to reach perfect safety ; but Heaven only knew
whether I could effect this against the wind, and, most
probably, a strong current.

Down went the helm. Then, with the wind to star-
board, and going a point free, I just managed to scrape
clear of the coast. That afternoon I got under the lee
of St. John, a rugged and lofty island, where I found an
anchorage in twenty fathoms, and landed two or three of
my passengers.

I did not avail myself of the anchorage, however, but
hove the ship to during the night. The next day I
ran under the lee of the largest of the Kaan Is., where
nearly half of my passengers were to be landed. As
the shore was " bold to," I was able to keep the ship
within one or two hundred yards of the landing-place, so
that I could watch every detail of the landing through
my glass.

Before we sailed from Mackay, the sub-immigration
agent of that port had provided the ship with a quantity
of " trade," which was to be distributed amongst the
" rejected ' islanders when they were landed at their
homes. Each of them now received his or her " whack "
before getting into the boats, consisting of beads,
tobacco, pipes, calico of divers hues and patterns, tin
pannikins and billies, fish-lines and hooks, tomahawks
and knives, etc., etc., etc. Clothing and blankets were
provided by the ship.

In the boats they were quiet enough, but, as soon as
they got on shore, what an uproar and commotion !
They shouted, yelled, screamed, danced, and ran about
like a parcel of lunatics. Off came every stitch of
clothing, every man and woman stripping as bare as the
day they were born. Their countrymen and country-
women appeared in hundreds, and, no doubt, made a
good haul ; for, in all directions, men and boys were

GERRIT DENYS AND FISHER IS. 343

continually rushing off to the bush with some article or
another — a brightly flashing knife or billy, or a yard or
two of red or yellow calico. I expect that the " stay-at
homes " got more out of the Queensland Government
that day than did those for whom the " trade " had been
really intended.

Next morning I arrived off the eastern coast of Gerrit
Denys I. Having landed some boys there, I ran down
to St. Joseph I. in the afternoon, ten miles further north.
There three or four men and a woman were landed. It
was after dark, and the boats had considerable difficulty
in finding the ship again ; for the sky was overcast, and
heavy showers fell at intervals. The wind was light
and fitful, sometimes easterly, and then again from north-
west. We were in the " doldrums," between the south-
east trades and the north-west monsoon.

Early next morning the wind came up fresh from
north-west, and I had to keep the ship to windward so
as to fetch Fisher I. the following day. My old main-
sail would not stand much shaking, so I was obliged to
" wear ship " instead of tacking, running to leeward every
time I went about. Luckily, a strong current set along
this coast of New Ireland to north-west. So I lost no
ground, and was able next day to discharge the last of
my passengers at Fisher I.

I had now an empty hold, and held a licence to
recruit another shipful. I was debarred from enlisting
natives of New Britain, New Ireland, and their adjuncts ;
so I stood southward again, and, meeting the trade-wind
off the southern shore of New Ireland, I beat up against
it back to the Louisiade. Entering the barrier-reef of
the Archipelago by Johnson Pass, off the southern
coast of Sudest I., on September 5, I anchored off
Pig I. in Coral Haven.

My old mainsail was now fairly played out. It
reminded one of a chart of the Archipelago, so covered
was it with " over-all " patches. Accordingly, the next

344 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

fortnight was spent lying at anchor, while all hands
engaged in making a new mainsail, which required all
the spare heavy canvas I had on board. During the
progress of this work, the G.A. and I cruised about in
the boats. But natives seldom approached either boats
or ship, and not a single man was recruited.

As soon as the new sail had been finished and bent
on, I left Coral Haven, and, after ineffectually working
part of the Calvados Chain, I visited all the islands north
and north-east of the Archipelago — St. Aignan, Wood-
lark, Renard, the Laughlans, Lagrandiere, Jouveny,
Jurien, Trobriand, and Normanby. I secured very few
recruits for all my trouble. The mission teachers and
beche-de-mer gatherers had spread such stories about
the ill-treatment of islanders in Queensland, and on
board labour ships, that the inhabitants of these islands
would rarely even approach us.

On a single occasion violence was offered. This
happened on the north-eastern coast of Normanby I.
A man was engaged there whose brother disapproved
of his going, and threw a huge stone at the recruiter,
which narrowly missed its mark. Had it struck his
head, it would have certainly dashed his brains out.
Others were ready to join in the quarrel ; but one of
our men in the covering boat promptly fired at the
stone-thrower, wounding him slightly in the leg. This
had the effect of dispersing the hostile mob — fifty or
more of them — who ran off into the bush. As for the
wounded man, he fell down under a tree, terribly
frightened, though little hurt, whence he presently
limped off.

On November 13, I was lying off Moresby I. within
sight of the New Guinea coast. There I engaged a
man who was supposed to be a mission teacher. He
volunteered his services without any solicitation, and I
cherished the hope that his example would draw others.
But in this I was disappointed. The following night he

A WRATHFUL DAME. 345

deserted by swimming, and even persuaded another
Moresby man to go with him. He also stole the cook's
axe, and as much of the recruits' tobacco as he could lay
his hands on.

My provisions were now running short, so, though I
had but a score of recruits on board, I thought it best to
make for Teste I. The wind failing me, I anchored off
the Foolscap Rock, a few miles short of that island.

I had brought three Teste I. interpreters with me
from Mackay, whither they had been sent from Towns-
ville, discharged from the Ceara. These I now landed
at Teste, according to agreement. At the same time I
endeavoured to engage one or two others, to accompany
me back to Townsville, whither I was now bound.

My old acquaintance, the teacher's wife, opposed all
my endeavours. During the absence of the missionary,
she seemed to be the ruling power on the island. After
waiting for three days in hopes of circumventing her, I
was forced to give it up, and to sail again for Queens-
land. I trusted I might find some man on the planta-
tions there who would be able to act as interpreter for
me. Eventually I did so obtain one ; but only after
much delay and expense.

The principal reason for the old lady's animosity to-
wards me arose from the circumstance that I had put
her "in the pepper " —the newspaper — at which she was
very wroth. When I returned to Townsville after the
second voyage of the Lizzie, I had written an account of
my voyage, which appeared in one of the local news-
papers. In this I had described how her ladyship had
accepted all my gifts, and then refused to let interpreters
join the ship, although several were ready and willing
to go. Of this she had somehow been apprised.

I left Teste I. with a fair wind from about north, and
shaped a course for the Flora Passage in the Great
Barrier ; but as I drew near the Queensland coast, the
breeze gradually fell away. I sighted the breakers on

346 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the Barrier one afternoon, but too late to admit of getting
through by nightfall. I therefore hauled off eastward.
That night it fell calm, and a southerly current took hold
of the ship. Next day a similar thing happened. Again
I sighted the reefs, but too late in the day to get through.
Again followed another night of calm and drifting to the
southward. Luckily, the weather was clear and fine, so
that I was able to take observations, and ascertain the
ship's position. I was then in a part of the ocean that
had not been surveyed, the outer edge of the Barrier
being represented on the charts merely by a dotted line.

Next morning I risked the ship a little more, heading
her in towards the reefs before daylight, with a light
northerly air. I neared the Barrier about i p.m., and
fancied I saw a clear passage through just ahead of me.
But a topping sea undeceived me, and I had barely time
to round the ship to and keep her from running upon
the reef. As there was not wind enough to get away
again, I let go the anchor in eighteen fathoms, and,
when sufficient chain had been paid out, I had the reef,
with only one fathom of water on it, not a ship's length
astern.

This was about seventy miles south of the Flora
Passage. Next it fell dead calm, so we passed the
night there. In the morning a fresh breeze sprang up
from northward, so I hove short and canted the ship,
under sail, with a kedge and warp from abaft the port
main rigging. The kedge, with part of the warp, which
I had to cut, were abandoned. Then, barely weathering
a point of reef astern, I ran through a narrow opening,
whence, with the sun astern of me, I conned the ship
from aloft, and, for about two hours, meandered through
a perfect labyrinth of coral patches and reefs. I reached
more open water at last, anchoring at noon in thirty
fathoms. For the sky had now become clouded over,
and I was unable to see my way clearly.

I was now inside the Barrier, but all the trouble was

I GO TO MELBOURNE. 347

by no means over yet. Next morning, the wind, though
fair, was light and puffy, the sky being thickly overcast
with cloud, making the water and reef all one colour.

However, I conquered that difficulty by sending the
boatswain away in one of the boats, with a compass, to
steer in towards the land, and signal if he fell in with
shallow water. Then, getting under way, I followed
him, keeping the ship about a mile behind him, until I
reached the surveyed waters of the channel known as
" The Inner Route," between the Queensland coast and
the reefs of the Great Barrier.

The first land I made was the north end of Hinchin-
brook I., right ahead. As soon as I reached surveyed
waters, I kept away to the southward for Townsville,
where I anchored on November 29.

During the latter part of this voyage I had suffered
much from bad health ; a determination of blood to the
head being, I believe, my principal ailment. This
seriously affected my right eye, which had been a
"lame duck" since 1859, when it was injured at
Bombay.

In consequence of this, I left the Heath at Townsville,
and repaired to Melbourne. There I put myself under
the treatment of an eminent oculist, who operated on the
eye, and turned me out again in three weeks fit for
service once more.

Service ? Yes ! But not in the labour trade ! My
course was run, at any rate for the next three years, as
regarded that !

From Melbourne I went to Townsville, and then to
Brisbane. I stayed some time at the last-mentioned
city, writing up my career in the labour trade to that
date. The manuscript, when finished, I sent to my
friends in England, whence it was returned to me about
a year later. In the beginning of 1890, I sent it to
England a second time, with additions. It was shipped
on board the unfortunate s.s. Quctta, and now lies at

348 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the bottom of the sea in seventeen fathoms of water —
worse luck !

Two days before I sailed in the Heath from Mackay,
July 17, the Hopeful, barquentine, had arrived at
Dungeness, at the mouth of the Herbert River, about
fifty miles north-west of Townsville, bringing islanders
from the Louisiade Archipelago. Her recruits were
examined through interpreters, who were supposed to
be thoroughly reliable. Afterwards, they were shown to
be great scoundrels. The recruits were landed, and, as
no complaints were made either by white men or
Kanakas, as to any ill-doings, the voyage was, for a
time, supposed to have been conducted in an honest and
legal manner. But it had been simply a career of out-
rage, and even of murder.

The Hopeful was commanded by a young man who
had never had charge of a ship before. No doubt he
had gathered his impressions of the mode of obtaining
recruits from outsiders. Her Government agent was
an acknowledged drunkard, who acted up to his reputa-
tion. He owed his appointment to the Griffiths
Ministry, then in power — a ministry pledged to do away
with the trade. The recruiter was the same man who
was in the ship when I met her at Blanche Bay, New
Ireland, and he ought to have been debarred from
serving in the trade long before.

In July, 1884, seven Kanakas, brought by the Ceara
from the Engineer Is., Louisiade Archipelago, were
brought before Mr. Wallace, sub-immigration agent at
Townsville, charged with desertion from plantation
work. During their examination by Mr. Wallace, they
each and all said that they had been engaged for three
years. The following year, when examined before the
Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the manner
of engagement of the islanders brought from the Archi-
pelago by the Ceara, Lizzie ', Heath, Sibyl, and Forest
King, they asserted that they were recruited for much
shorter periods of time.

EVIDENCE OF KANAKAS. 349

Here is a specimen of the evidence given to Mr.
Wallace at this time, before Cago, the rascally inter-
preter of the Hopeful, afterwards relied on by the Royal
Commission, had had an opportunity of making them
alter their statements.

Veraque said, through an interpreter : —

" He belong Burri-Burrigan; he know he come alonga
Ceara ; he come three years, work alonga sugar cane ;
when he got to Kalamia (plantation), was sent to trash
cane ; he no like that work ; when he stop along his
island, no work ; when he go alonga sugar cane in
Queensland, he too much work ; no like him ; suppose
he work strong fellow, white fellow he no hit him ; sup-
pose he lazy, he hit him a little fellow. Sun, he come
up, he go work ; sun, he go down, he go sleep ; no get
him plenty ki-ki ; plenty boy die ; he think he die, too ;
wants to go alonga home."

Here was easy material to work upon. When the
Royal Commission — composed of three ardent Griffith-
ites — came along, how easy for Cago, the interpreter, to
persuade the dissatisfied boys to say they were engaged
for three moons, not for three years, knowing that by
so lying they would be sent back home at once.

On the eleventh of August, the labour schooner Forest
King arrived at Brisbane, in charge of Lieut. Bruce, of
H.M.S. Swinger. This vessel had been recruiting in the
Louisiade Archipelago. When lying off Anchor I.—
no great distance from Teste I. — she had been boarded
by Lieut. Torlesse, of H.M.S. Swinger, and seized
because the recruits did not thoroughly understand their
agreement. The following night, while the two ships
were lying at anchor, sixteen of the recruits jumped
overboard and deserted, frightened, no doubt, by the
proximity of a ship of war.

The Forest King case was commenced in the Vice-
Admiralty court at Brisbane, on October 8. It re-
sulted in the ship being restored to the owners, with costs.

350 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

One of the principal witnesses for the prosecution was
a teacher named Jerry, from Teste I. He wofully con-
tradicted himself, and, it came out that this " Christian "
darkie did not hesitate to lie through thick and thin, so
long as he could stop his people from going to Queens-
land in the labour vessels. In this respect he had been
probably influenced by Nicholas Minister and other
beche-de-mer fishers. These do not like to see the
population thinned, because the more natives there are
in the islands, the greater is the consumption of tobacco.
Consequently, a larger amount of beche-de-mer is col-
lected by them to exchange for the weed.

Mr. MacFarlane, the missionary, in a letter to " The
Brisbane Courier," September 10, 1884, said he pre-
ferred that natives should acquire experience under
intelligent and gentlemanly planters in Queensland,
rather than from beche-de-mer collectors, and " beach-
combers " in New Guinea.

The trial of those concerned in the Hopeful case came
off in November. Captain Shaw, her master ; Mr.
McNeil, recruiter; Mr. Scholfield, G.A. ; Freeman, mate;
Williams, boatswain ; Preston and Rogers, A.B.'s, were
charged with kidnapping : McNeil and Williams with
murder, likewise. The principal witness for the prosecu-
tion was Albert Messiah, a negro cook. He had vainly
tried to extort blackmail, before the trial, from Shaw and
others concerned. Another was Dingwall, carpenter,
who had come out of gaol just before joining the Hope-
ful. The remaining witnesses were Kanakas, whose
evidence was taken through different interpreters. The
chief interpreter was Cago, who had taken part in the
alleged misdeeds of the accused, and who was sub-
sequently the chosen tool of the Royal Commission.

The evidence of Messiah and Dingwall was taken on
oath. That of the other Kanakas was not. An amend-
ment of the Criminal Law was passed by Parliament —
after the prisoners had been committed for trial — to

POLITICAL DODGES. 351

admit Kanaka evidence without the oath ! The prison
records of Messiah and Dingwall were such, that,
apparently, the Ministry of that day deemed it necessary
to alter the law of evidence in favour of savages, so as to
bolster up the case for the prosecution.

Three of the crew, Tulloch, Binns, and Siebert, were
not included in the indictment. The law officers of the
Crown had taken their evidence, found it favourable to
the accused, and — did not call them before the Court !
Afterwards, in 1890, the then Minister for Justice, re-
porting on the Hopeful case, said : —

It is a deplorable circumstance, however it may have occurred,
that such material evidence then in the possession of the Crown Law
Officers, and which was necessary to elucidate the truth, was not dis-
closed to those upon whom the onerous duty of trying the charges
against the prisoners was imposed. In this particular, and in other
matters already alluded to, the whole of the circumstances surrounding
the cases, and the manner in which the evidence was obtained, were
not laid before the court. Verdicts were arrived at upon partial infor-
mation only, which, in my opinion, could scarcely have been arrived at
if the full facts had been brought out.

There was doubtless much hard swearing- on both

o

sides ; but, from the first, it was evident that the trial was
a purely political one. Party feeling ran high at that
time, and the Polynesian Labour Trade was the great
question between the Government and the Opposition.
The former was pledged to abolish the importation of
cheap coloured labour. A verdict of " Guilty " against
the prisoners in the Hopeful case, would help to damn
the trade in the eyes of the electors.

Although the recruits had been landed at Townsville,
or were employed near it, the offenders arrested there,
and the owners of the Hopeful were a Townsville firm,
the case was removed to Brisbane. The capital was
Anti-Kanaka, which was sufficient reason for the transfer ;
at Townsville, opinions were otherwise. It may also be
asked why, since the alleged offences had been com-

352 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

mitted within the jurisdiction of the High Commissioner
for the Western Pacific — the Governor of Fiji — the case
was not sent to his court, as that of Kilgour had been.
But that, again, might not have suited the political
exigencies of the party in power !

Further, it would seem that Messiah was paid for his
evidence. Mr. Rollwagen and Mr. Stout, both of
Townsville, testified at the trial that Messiah had said
that all had gone right on the voyage, but that he had a
" down " on McNeil, and would pay him out. On the
day before he left Townsville for Brisbane, Messiah said
he had " a good thing on." He had got ,£50, and should
get ^500 ; that was better than cooking ! Mr. G. E.
Cooper, a publican, also stated that Messiah had told
him he was getting a pound a day from the Government
for his evidence.

What the South Sea Island witnesses' evidence was
worth, may be judged from the following — an extract
from the Chief Justice's notes of the trials : —

On Tuesday, November 15, 1884, Charley, under examination in the
Supreme Court, says : —

" Me go to see Messiah plenty times ; Messiah live South Brisbane ;
me go Messiah's house ; Jack go Messiah's house ; Harry go Messiah's
house ; Messiah talk about this plenty time ; Messiah tell me to say I
see McNeil fire gun ; he tell me say I see boy dead."

On Monday, December i, 1884, Charley, under examination in the
Supreme Court, on the second day of the trial, says : —

" I know Messiah, cook ; me speak here before ; me make a mistake
that time; I don't know where he lives ; I no been go to his house; it
was a mistake when I say last time ' Me, Jack, and Harry go and see
Messiah plenty times ' ; Messiah did not talk to me plenty times about
Williams shooting boy ; I make mistake that time too ; I not go to
Messiah house ; I tell Messiah live alonga South Brisbane."

The prisoners were all found guilty. McNeil and
Williams were sentenced to death ; Shaw and Scholfield
were sentenced to imprisonment for life, the first three
years in irons ; Freeman was sentenced to ten years, two
in irons ; Preston and Rogers to seven years, one in

EFFECTS OF THE FIREARMS REGULATION. 353

irons. The death-sentence against McNeil and Williams
was commuted to imprisonment for life. In 1890, all
the prisoners were pardoned and liberated.

Another case was tried at the same time. Captain
Louttit, master of the Ethel, Christopher Mills, G.A.,
and G. R. Burton, mate, were found guilty of kidnap-
ping, and were sentenced to imprisonment for different
terms. They were likewise pardoned in 1890.

In September, 1884, the Ceara took a large number ot
" returns " back to the New Hebrides. These natives
had been engaged under the old regulations, which per-
mitted them to purchase firearms and take them to their
homes. The new law, forbidding the purchase and ex-
port of firearms, came into force before they left Queens-
land. They were naturally aggrieved at what must have
seemed to them a breach of the agreement under which
they had been recruited.

By the time the Ceara arrived at Sandwich I., it
became evident that the " returns " on board intended to
take their revenge out of the ship, as soon as a convenient
opportunity presented itself. Fortunately, the Ceara
fell in with H.M.S. Miranda, which convoyed her until
all her passengers had been landed. Had it not been
for this, it is more than probable that the crew of the
Ceara would have fallen victims to the anger of the
justly incensed islanders.

In October, 1884, Joseph Booth, an old companion of
mine, was treacherously murdered by the natives at Port
Stanley, Mallicolo I. About the same date, Peter Cullen
and another were murdered at Lenurr I. Booth had
been in the employment of the Compagnie dcs Nouvclles
Hebrides. Consequently, his murderers were promptly
punished by a French man-o'-war. I have been at the
place since, and I wandered through the village un-
harmed. This I could never have done if matters had
been left to British authorities to arrange.

A German trader was murdered at Tanna I. in the

A A

354 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

same month. Shortly after, Captain Frier, of Cooktown,
and another, were killed at Basilisk I., in the Louisiade.
The brig Emily, Captain McOuaker, was fired at by
natives of Espiritu Santo. Forty or fifty bullets struck
the ship, rendering it a hazardous job to get her under way.
More than sixty Snider rifles were in possession of the
natives who attacked her, and these had been sold to
them by French and German traders.

There was a great difference, at that time, in the treat-
ment accorded to its subjects in the Western Pacific by
the British Government, as compared to that which
France and Germany dealt out to theirs. This took
effect in such matters as the purchase of land from the
natives, freedom of trade, protection of life and property,
punishment of natives for outrages, and so forth. The
attention of the Australian public was too frequently
drawn to the subject, provoking such expressions of
opinion as the following, which appeared in " The Bris-
bane Courier," January 6, 1885 : —

General Scratchley's statement as to his duties in connection with
the settlement of New Guinea, and the reports we published the other
day of doings in the South Sea Islands, furnished by masters of ships
just returned from the islands, should open the eyes of Australians to
the very unfavourable position in which the difference between the
colonial policy of Great Britain, and that of Germany and France, is
now placing the Australian people.

The writer went on to speak of the treatment that
British subjects receive from their Government, compar-
ing it with the assistance and protection afforded to
French and German subjects by their respective Govern-
ments. Germany allows her subjects to purchase land
from natives freely ; Great Britain interposes obstacles.
Consequently, Germany cannot recognize the validity of
claims made by British subjects ; and German ships of
war threaten British settlers in the islands, should these
raise any objection to Germans taking possession of the
lands they have acquired. British subjects are not

THE NEW GUINEA QUESTION. 355

allowed to sell firearms to natives, even in a British
Protectorate ; French and German subjects are under no
such restrictions. Germany has encouraged and aided
che settlement of New Guinea by her subjects ; Great
Britain has peremptorily excluded hers, although Queens-
land contributes ^15,000 to the British New Guinea
Government ; a sum that can only be used to enforce a
blockade against those who have contributed it.

Going farther afield, the writer of this article pointed
out that Great Britain is allowing Australia to be sur-
rounded by possibly hostile communities ; that the
South Sea Island trade has been ruined, so far as
Australia is concerned ; that' Russia is advancing on
India in one direction, while France, in Cochin and Siam,
is encroaching on the other ; that Germany has now
obtained a sure footing in South Africa, on the borders
of Cape Colony. From all of which the writer con-
cluded that these steps had been taken by France and
Germany in view of the coming dissolution of the British
Empire.

Furthermore, the partitioning of New Guinea has
taught the colonies two things : first, that Great Britain
will neither defend nor allow them to defend what they
deem their rights ; second, that, through the different
policies of Great Britain, France, and Germany in the
Western Pacific, the power of the former in that part of
the world is rapidly diminishing, and will soon disappear
altogether. The article cited wound up with a warn-
ing that Australia must be prepared to act for herself.
"To trust to England for support will be to lean upon
a rotten reed ! "

Tall talk, this, no doubt ; but Australians know there
is only too much truth in it. In the Pacific it is well
known that commanders of British ships of war are
restrained by their orders, when investigating charges
of murder committed by natives upon British subjects,
and are enjoined " to avoid bloodshed." Yet how is a

356 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

murderer to be apprehended, when he has the cover of a
thick forest at his back, with his whole tribe, probably
his abettors in the crime, to defend him ?

Natives of the New Hebrides and Solomon groups
now know very well that, for the murder of a white
man, or even for the destruction of a ship and all her
crew, there is little fear of any punishment being inflicted

RECRUITS.

on them beyond the burning of a few thatched houses,
and, possibly, the loss of some canoes and cocoanut trees.
For they are sure to receive warning, and be afforded
ample time to clear out of danger, before any firing takes
place. As instances of this, I may cite the cases of the
vessels, Borealis, Janet Stewart, Young Dick, and Savo ;
also the murders of Renton, Steadman, and Armstrong,
Government agents. Such " magnanimous " treatment
only serves to encourage natives to commit more murders ;

OUTCRIES OF MISSIONARIES. 357

for they do not understand condonation of an offence,
they ascribe it to fear.

The raid of the party from the Miranda, across
Lepers' or Aoba I., to punish the murderers of Renton
and his companions, certainly gave the natives a better
opinion of the white man's pluck and energy. However,
in that case, the murderers escaped ; the shooting of one
woman and a few pigs, with the destruction of the village,
being all that was effected.

Report even says that, when Captain Belbin's death
was avenged, the commander of the Dart was repri-
manded for what he did.

Some may say that white men have amply avenged
themselves on the islanders, citing the case of the Hope-
ful, and some others of a similar sort. But the voyage
of the Hopeful was an exception, and not the rule. No
one execrated the deeds of MacNeil, Williams, and their
companions, more than did other labour recruiters, especi-
ally such as had been engaged in the trade for any
length of time.

Some missionaries also, especially those of the Pres-
byterian denomination, have cried out against the
enormities of what they are pleased to term " the Queens-
land slave trade." But it must be recollected that
many of their charges have been examined into and
disproved. Some years ago, when Captain Bridges, of
H.M.S. Espiegle, investigated charges brought by the
Rev. Mr. Paton, of the New Hebrides Presbyterian
Mission, the said charges were proved to be entirely
without foundation. Yet, still, gentlemen of Mr. Paton's
sort have by no means discontinued their unwarrantable
outcries.

The stoppage of the sale of firearms to islanders was
enforced, I suppose, in order to damage the labour trade
of Queensland alone. At any rate, that is all the effect
it had. The firearms trade at once passed entirely into
the hands of the French and Germans, who are conse-

358 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

quently more than able to compete with us in the New
Hebrides and the Solomons.

In 1890, I saw two or three dozen Snider rifles, openly
exposed for sale to natives, in a French store in Havan-
nah Harbour, Sandwich I., while one of Her Majesty's
ships was lying there. In the Solomons, three cases
of "buying" boys with firearms also came under my
notice.

The German vessel Maria, recruiting in 1890 for
Samoan planters, at Port Adams, Maramasiki I., engaged
seventy-two boys, giving a Snider and ammunition for
each : the Ubea (German) took forty boys from Tiarro
Bay, Guadalcanar I., the same year, the price given for
each being a Snider and forty cartridges.

On January 6, 1891, I was off Fokinkava, on the north-
east coast of Malayta I. The natives then informed me
that a French vessel had left there two days previously,
full of boys, for each of whom two Sniders and ammuni-
tion had been given. I have good reason to think
that, if care is not taken to prevent it, a real slave trade
will be established on that coast, for the benefit of the
French and Germans. The people of Malayta have
always practised slavery, though in a very limited way.
The New Hebrideans are hardly advanced enough yet
to appreciate " the peculiar institution " more than
approximately.

The fact that foreigners are allowed, in a British
protectorate, such as the southern portion of the Solomon
group, to do what is forbidden to British subjects, while
these are not allowed even to trade in foreign protecto-
rates, is but the natural result of that cowardly policy
which has caused us, of late years, to bully or make war
upon small and weak communities, and to give way before
stronger nations, that are better able to cope with us !

^feJVl*

yte.r-a ?V *

CHAPTER XXIL

THE CRUISE OF THE VICTORIA, 1885.

The Griffith Ministry and the labour trade — Labourers abscond
— A Royal Commission appointed — Its constitution — The in-
terpreters— Mr. Roses defence of them — Underhand practices
— Examination of labourers — Government agents not called
— The Report of the Commission — My letter to " The Bris-
bane Courier" — I court inquiry — And am denied it — I go to
Sydney — / am engaged as pilot by the A.S.N. Co. — Fitting
out the Victoria — Mr. Griffith objects to me — The Company
stands by me — Appointed, and go to Brisbane— I am served
with a writ —Bonds demanded ! — The official party — News-
paper reporters — Our fighting strength — Nordenfeldts re-
quired ! — Mr. Hodgson's offer — My berth not " all skittles and
beer" — "After-guard" abuse — / speak up — " Whiskey-skins ! "
— Some labourers refuse to go home — Mr. Lawes' opinion —
How the boys greeted me — Dixon — His report to the Commis-
sioners— He tells me the truth of it — Cagds proceedings — At
sea — / visit the islanders' quarters — Dante's Inferno ! — Bad
management — The doctor's orders — / am placed under re-
striction— " Land ahead ! " — " Where are we ? " — Fisherman
I. — In danger — " Pilot, take the ship in ! " — A narrow escape
— Piloting — It takes a hurricane to put me ashore !

THE atrocities committed by the crew of the Hopeful
during that vessel's last voyage, together with the verdict
of " guilty" against the offenders, proved a sore blow to
the labour trade. Very naturally, the unsophisticated
public began to ask if it was possible that the stories told
by missionaries and other opponents of the trade, about
kidnappings and murders, might not be founded upon
facts. It was only necessary for the Griffith Ministry to
deal another blow, fairly or otherwise, at the trade, and a
soft spot was soon found whereon to indict it.

360 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The islanders brought from the East Cape of New
Guinea, and from the Louisiade Archipelago, had proved
almost worthless as labourers. A sudden fall in the
price of sugar in January, 1885, made the planters only
too glad to get rid of them, even at some loss.

These islanders had all been employed on northern
plantations. Nearly every day some of them absconded,
took to the bush, and even stole boats, in which to coast
northward, in hopes of so reaching their homes. Some
succeeded in doing so ; many sickened and died. A
few who got as far as Cooktown, or Torres Straits, per-
haps, were picked up and forwarded to their homes.
Some of these, it was said, stated that they had not under-
stood they were to serve so long a time as three years.
The truth or falsity of this statement cannot now be
ascertained. In consequence of this state of things, three
gentlemen, all devoted adherents of the Griffith Ministry,
were appointed under a Royal Commission, December 23,
1884, to examine recruits brought from New Guinea and
the neighbouring islands, and to report accordingly. These
three gentlemen were : Mr. Buckland, member for Bul-
imba ; Mr. Kinnaird Rose, a lawyer fresh from Great
Britain; and Mr. Milman, the police magistrate of Cook-
town. The last was the only one of the three who had
any acquaintance with the character of Polynesians, and
his experience was of the slightest. Mr. W. C. Lawrie
was appointed secretary. Of him it was subsequently
said that he had " resided in New Guinea for about a
year, had acquired a fair knowledge of many of the dia-
lects, and become acquainted with much of the southern
and south-eastern portions of the island." This was
saying a great deal more than was true.

Three interpreters accompanied the party : Cago, who
had been on the Hopeful; Diene, a mission teacher, and
as fit a tool for any dirty work as the first ; with another
islander, named Toiamina.

After the " Commissioners " had completed their

MR. ROSENS DEFENCE OF CAGO. 361

labours, it was extensively rumoured that, at the different
plantations visited, the interpreters, especially Cago, had
been amongst the boys previous to their examination,
and had schooled them in the replies they were to make
to the Commissioners' questions. So instructed, the boys
were to say that they had understood, at the time of their
several engagements, that they were to remain in Queens-
land only a few months, not for three years. They were
persuaded that, if they admitted they had been engaged
for three years, they would have to stay, and work out
that term ; but if, on the contrary, they said two or three
months, they would be sent home at once, with plenty of
trade.

It was in consequence of these reports, I suppose, that
Mr. Kinnaird Rose addressed a letter to " The Brisbane
Courier," which made its appearance in the issue of
August 4, 1885. In this he stated : —

Cago was never permitted to speak to the labourers, except in the
presence of the Commission. He accompanied the Commissioners, in
the same buggy, to and from Ingham and Hamleigh ; he stayed in the
same hotel with the Commissioners at Ingham ; he had no possible
opportunity of visiting the plantation alone, without the knowledge of
the Commissioners ; he never did so visit the plantation for the purpose
described, or for any other purpose. Moreover, Cago was under my own
eye for six months. I made a careful study of his character and disposi-
tion, and I assert — of course, for what it is worth — not that he was in-
capable of so acting and lying, but that, as a matter of fact, he did
not so act and lie.

Well might Mr. Rose say that his assertion was to be
taken " for what it is worth ! " Fancy keeping Cago
"under his own eye" for six months, while travelling
about from one place to another ! And where were the
other interpreters all the while ?

As a matter of fact, several persons connected with the
Commission, and one or other of the interpreters — Cago,
I was told — did visit a number of islanders one evening
at the Immigration Depot on Ross I., Townsville, pre-
vious to their examination, conversed on that subject,

362 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

and distributed tobacco among them. Similar things
were done at other places, and witnesses could be found,
even at the present day, who would prove it.

There can be little doubt that no opportunity was
missed of coaching up the islanders beforehand, so that
they should say only what was convenient. Whether this
was done with the knowledge of the Commissioners, or
not, of course I am unable to say.

The Commissioners commenced their work at Towns-
ville, on January 6, 1885. They visited every plantation
where natives from New Guinea or its vicinity were em-
ployed ; on the Johnstone, Herbert, and Pioneer Rivers,
and in the delta of the Burdekin. They held thirty meet-
ings, and examined 480 islanders, presumably labourers,
among them "two natives of the South Sea Islands,
being a portion of the boats' crew of the Hopeful"

Are we to suppose, then, that no other islanders, who
had been boatmen in any of the vessels concerned, were
examined ? Well, I know that some were examined ;
yet their testimony was not included in the Commission-
ers' Report. Four of the boatmen I had employed in the
Louisiade were then working as free labourers on the
Herbert River. I met them there myself the following
year. These boys gave me a long account of the ques-
tions that had been put to them by the Commissioners,
together with their answers.

The Commissioners stated in their Report, that " It
would have been desirable, the Commission thought, to
have examined the Government agents on board the
vessels which had recruited the islanders, the subject of
inquiry ; but it was found that they had either left the
colony, or were out of reach."

The three Government agents who had accompanied
me on my cruises in the Louisiade were all in Brisbane,
where they were well known, at the very time the Com-
missioners made their Report ; and they had been there
for a good while before.

THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. 363

The Report itself, as submitted to the Governor on
April 10, is too long for insertion, but the gist of it is
contained in the following extract from a Mackay
paper :—

Report of the Polynesian Commission.

The Report of the Polynesian Commission has been published.
The report is a lengthy document, and deals fully with the whole sub-
ject of recruiting on eight different voyages. The recruiting vessels are
dealt with in detail. The conclusions arrived at by the Commission are
as follows : — " Regarding the voyage of the Ceara, our opinion is that all
the recruits brought on this voyage were induced to go on board on
false pretences ; that the nature of their agreements was never fully ex-
plained to them ; that they had little or no comprehension of the kind
of work they had to perform ; and that the period for which they had
agreed to come was in no single instance three years. Regarding the
voyage of the Lizzie, we are of opinion that the nature of their agree-
ment was never clearly explained to or understood by them, and that
the method of recruiting was cruelly deceptive, and altogether illegal.
Regarding the second voyage of the Ceara, the Commission are of
opinion that a system of deliberate fraud was practised in engaging all
recruits during that voyage. As to the second voyage of the Lizzie, on
a review of the whole of the evidence as to the recruiting on this
voyage, we are of opinion that while some natives were forcibly kid-
napped, all were allured on board by false statements; that the nature
of the agreements to which they subsequently attached their marks,
was deliberately misrepresented to them, and that they had no clear
understanding that they were coming to Queensland to work on sugar
plantations for three years." Somewhat similar opinions are expressed
with regard to the voyages of the Sibyl, the Forest King, and the Heath.
With reference to the notorious voyage of the Hopeful, the Report states
that the history of this cruise is one long record of deceit, cruel treach-
ery, deliberate kidnapping, and cold-blooded murder. The number of
human beings whose lives were sacrificed can never be accurately
known, but in addition to the two men killed at Sonorod, for which
offence McNeil and Williams were convicted, there is, in the opinion
of the Commission, abundant evidence of many other murders."

I was then in Brisbane, and learning from a Mary-
borough paper that Mr. Griffith, who had perused the
Report before it was presented to the Governor, had, in
a speech at that place, made some allusion to it in con-
nection with kidnapping, I addressed the following letter
to the editor of " The Brisbane Courier," which ap-

364 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

peared in the same issue as the full Report of the Royal
Commission.

To the Editor of " The Brisbane Courier."

SIR, — Three weeks ago I addressed a letter to you, which appeared
in your columns, commenting on some words of Mr. Griffith's at the
late Maryborough banquet. He accused me and others of obtaining
Polynesian recruits from the vicinity of New Guinea — I took none from
the mainland — by fraud or force. His accusation was founded on the
lying and interested evidence of Kanakas. Mr. Griffith further stated
that the Commissioner^ Report would be published shortly. He has
been in possession of this Report three weeks, but I have heard nothing
of any result. Weeks previous to the Report, I was told at the Immi-
gration Office that I was debarred from going to the islands in the
labour trade, until, at any rate, the Report was published, but no speci-
fic reasons were assigned.

Twice I applied for an interview with the Premier, but was told it
was impossible, through press of public business. I have had employ-
ment offered me twice, but was debarred from accepting it. Even here
this groundless accusation stands in my way.

I have been ten years in the trade, and have always acted in accord-
ance with both the letter and the spirit of the law to the best of my
ability ; I court inquiry into all my actions ; the only unpleasantness
with the Immigration Office having been when I could not agree with
drunken or otherwise incompetent Government agents.

If I have done wrong, how is it that I am at liberty and not hunted
into gaol alongside of the Hopeful and Ethel unfortunates ? But, if not
guilty, why should I be punished by being debarred from engaging in
that branch of my profession for which my long experience peculiarly
fits me?

It is a Briton's birthright to have a fair trial before punishment ;
when Mr. Griffith denies me that, he may be acting as a Queensland
politician and minister, but not as an impartial judge.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

W. T. WAWN,
Late Master, Polynesian Labour Trade.

What more could I say ? I think this letter was a
fair challenge to the Government to put me on my trial
for kidnapping. For, surely, if there was sufficient evi-
dence to prove that the islanders I had brought had been
kidnapped, and that they must be sent back home, and that
their employers, who had already spent so much money
to introduce them into the Colony, should be deprived of

I GO TO SYDNEY. 365

their services, then I, who had brought them, must have
been guilty of kidnapping. But " the glorious uncer-
tainty of the law " is often a very puzzling thing to a
sailor.

I remained unmolested, as did all the other masters,
Government agents, and crews of the five vessels in
which those islanders who had been examined before
the Royal Commissioners had been brought to the
Colony.

The labour trade being now closed to me, I went to
Sydney, about the latter end of May, to try and find
other employment. At that time, the Geographical
Society of New South Wales was preparing to send a
party to explore the Fly River, in New Guinea. A
ship-master who had had experience amongst savages
was required to take the command. I put in an appli-
cation for the post, along with about forty others, and I
stood a very fair chance of obtaining the appointment.
Unluckily for me, I was informed that Sir Edward
Strickland, the President of the Society, objected to
employ any one who had had any connection with the
labour trade. So, the evening before the committee
made its decision, I withdrew my name.

I think it was in the last week of April, that, one
morning, my attention was called to a " personal " in
" The Sydney Morning Herald" :—

" Captain Wawn call on manager A.S. N. Co."
Away I went, accordingly, to the Company's offices
on Circular Quay, wondering what was in the wind.
Captain Tronton, the manager, soon enlightened me.
The Queensland Government was treating with the
A.S. N. Co. for the charter of one of their steamers—
the Victoria, a roomy but slow vessel of some 900 tons
register. She was to carry back to their homes those
islanders the late Royal Commission had declared to
have been kidnapped. Captain Tronton wished to know
if I would give my services as pilot, and what my terms

366 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

would be. Of course I jumped at the offer. As to
terms, since it was impossible to say how long- the trip
might last, considering that, from what Captain Tronton
told me, it seemed that it was to be a sort of " Royal
Progress," I asked for a first-class master's monthly
wages, which were granted.

As soon as our agreement had been signed, Captain
Tronton wired the news to the manager in Brisbane.
I went on board the Victoria, finding carpenters already
busy fitting her " 'tween decks " with the usual bunks,
constructing hatch-covers, a cooking galley for the
islanders, etc.

The intention was to return about four hundred and
sixty boys. As soon as I descended to the lower deck
of the steamer, however, I was certain that there would
not be sufficient accommodation for that number, if the
regulations of the Queensland Polynesian Labour Act
were adhered to. Subsequent measurements proved
that I was right ; for the whole space in the " 'tween
decks" was sufficient for only two hundred and fifty-
eight, while some of that was occupied by the machinery
of the steam-launch.

For two days I hung about the Victoria, with nothing
to do but to give a little information about the fittings
and the requisite charts, etc. Then " a change came
o'er the spirit of my dream." A telegram arrived from
the Company's manager in Brisbane, who informed us
that Mr. Griffith objected to Captain Wawn accompany-
ing the Victoria.

"Never mind," said Captain Tronton, "we'll make
that all right. At any rate, they shall not have the ship
unless they find me a pilot as experienced as yourself ;
and, if all is true that is said about you, they won't be
able to do that. This is Thursday ; give a look in on
Monday, say, and I think the matter will be settled
then. Meantime, put in your account for two days'
pay."

ENGAGED AS PILOT OF THE " VICTORIA." 367

This I did. On Monday the manager showed me
another telegram, saying that I was to accompany the
Victoria as pilot. The Queensland ministry had had to
give in. No other pilot was forthcoming, and it was a
case of " no pilot, no ship." So there was I, the re-
puted kidnapper of about half of the islanders to be
returned in the Victoria, receiving good wages to take
them back home again !

Verily, I think that those who stigmatized the cruise
of the Victoria a ridiculous farce, were not far out in
their reckoning.

I left Sydney in the Victoria for Brisbane, our first
port of call in Queensland, on Tuesday, June 2, 1885,
arriving at Brisbane on the following Friday. Of course
I was not then doing any pilotage duty, but was simply
a passenger. My bargain was to act as responsible pilot
in waters I was acquainted with, viz., the Louisiade
Archipelago, and to assist the master, Captain Ballistier,
whenever we encountered any intricate navigation among
reefs and islands, whether I was acquainted with them
or not.

We had just steamed up alongside the A.S. N. Co.'s
wharf at Brisbane, and the crew were eno-ao-ed in moor-

o o

ing the ship, when an individual with a long red-sealed
envelope in his hand popped his head into Captain
Ballistier's cabin on deck — where he and I were then
sitting — and asked : —

" Is Captain Wawn on board here ? "

I answered in the affirmative, and was promptly
served with a writ, or summons, or something of the
sort. It came from the Bailiff of the Supreme Court,
and was a demand for the payment by me of the sum of
,£1,500 bond money, ^"500 for each of my three voy-
ages to the Louisiade Archipelago — two in the Lizzie
and one in the Heath -- under the "Pacific Island
Labourers' Act " of 1880 ! !

I felt proud. I had never owed so much in my life

368 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

before, and I knew, by this time, that I was tolerably
safe from any prosecution for kidnapping. I handed
this precious paper to my bondsmen's lawyer in Brisbane,
and heard nothing more of it until more than a year
after. The bonds were never paid, so my bondsmen —
Messrs. Burns, Philp & Co., owners of the Lizzie and the
Heath — informed me. But I was told that some much
smaller sum was paid to the Queensland Government,
to avoid the expense of an action. Burns, Philp & Co.
are a commercial firm, and they looked to cash profit
before honour.

The Victoria, having discharged such passengers and
cargo as she had brought from Sydney — notably, a
portion of Chiarini's Circus — left Brisbane again on June
8. She now had on board the party of officials who
were to superintend the landing of the islanders ; with
their guard, twelve men of the Naval Brigade, under a
non-commissioned officer.

The officials were — Mr. Hugh Romilly, representing
the Imperial Government, with his Secretary, Mr.
Stanley Harris, and his under-Secretary, Mr. Geo.
Harris ; Mr. Chester, representing the Queensland
Government, whom we may call the G.A. of the party,
with his Secretary, Mr. Lawrie, lately Secretary to the
Royal Commission ; Dr. Patrick Smith, a " new-chum "
emigrant medico, correspondent of a Glasgow religious
paper, who wrote glowing accounts of the missionaries'
work in the islands, carefully keeping back such incidents
as would not redound to their credit ; and Cago, the
interpreter.

We had also three newspaper reporters — Messrs. W.
B. Livesey, of" The Brisbane Courier," Mr. W. J. Lyne,
of " The Sydney Morning Herald," and Mr. Herbert, of
" The Townsville Standard," whose presence appeared
anything but welcome to the Government party. These
did not care to have " a chiel " among them " takin'
notes " while they were enjoying what they evidently

NORDENFELDTS REQUIRED. 369

intended to be a picnic. Last of all came a piano.
Abundant " grog " of all descriptions had been shipped
early, to make sure that it was not left behind.

Mr. A. Musgrave, nephew of the Governor of Queens-
land, also travelled in the Victoria from Brisbane, as a
passenger, as far as Port Moresby, New Guinea.

Our fighting strength, in case of any collision with
the natives, which the Government party seemed to think
was very probable, amounted to ten gentlemen in the
cuddy, armed with rifles of the latest fashion, shot guns,
and revolvers ; twelve men of the Naval Brigade and one
non-commissioned officer, with their rifles and bayonets ;
the ship's company of thirty-seven whites and two
Kanakas, for whom Snider rifles and revolvers were
provided. Lastly, there was myself, with a " double
barrel " and a revolver. This imposing force was strong
enough to sweep the whole of the Louisiade ! Yet it
was not enough, apparently, for it was actually proposed
that we should ship two Nordenfeldt guns as well !
Possibly this might even have been done, had not some-
body growled out that "they had better ship a hundred
pounder ' Armstrong ' whilst they were about it, and so

prove themselves to be d d fools, and not leave people

in doubt !"

The Nordenfeldts were not shipped !

A friend and old schoolfellow of mine, the late Mr.
Samuel Hodgson, merchant and shipowner, told me that
he had offered to take the four hundred and odd islanders
back to their homes in his vessels, subject to the regu-
lations of the Polynesian Labour Act, for ^5 per head.
The Griffith Ministry declined his offer, preferring to
throw away considerably more of the public money by
making a virtuous "anti-slavery" splatter over "the
cruise of the Victoria''

Leaving Brisbane, the comfortable old Vic steamed
eight knots an hour to Mackay, off which port we an-
chored on the iith, and went on a^ain the same even-

O

B B

370 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

ing. There we received some thirty boys on board—
the exact number I cannot remember — and proceeded
on to Townsville, where we shipped the rest of the
return islanders, making up the total number to four
hundred and four.

Shortly after we anchored, a telegram was received by
Captain Ballistier from the manager of the A.S.N. Co.
in Brisbane, saying that Mr. Griffith desired that the
pilot (myself) should not be allowed to land at any place
where boys were to be put ashore, for fear of retaliation
and consequent bloodshed. I determined that whenever
a convenient opportunity should occur I would land, in
spite of Mr. Griffith, and I subsequently did so. I was
serving the A.S.N. Co., not Mr. Griffith, and was, to a
certain extent, even independent of the master of the ship.

By this time I had found out that my berth was not
"all skittles and beer." If I had, so far, no pilotage
work to do, at any rate I had to put up with a good
deal of " after-guard " abuse.

Before leaving Sydney, one of the state-rooms in the
main cabin was allotted to me by Captain Tronton. I
slept in it, and had my meals at the cabin table with
the other passengers until we arrived at the Louisiade.
After that I generally slept in the chart-room, on the
bridge, and often had my meals there ; not only in order
to keep a better watch over the safety of the ship, but
on account of the frequent references to " slavers," " kid-
nappers," etcetera, which too often greeted my ears when
I went aft.

Nevertheless, I kept possession of my state-room
throughout the trip, notwithstanding all efforts to dis-
possess me of it. As for unpleasant allusions, I had
been used to them so long in Queensland that I did not
pay much heed to the whiskey-begotten epithets I heard
on board the Victoria — between eight and nine in the
evening was the time when they became loudest. When
my navigation was impugned, however, I got riled.

SQUABBLES AMONG THE OFFICIALS. 371

One evening, when we were off Cape Pierson, Nor-
manby I., I took the bull by the horns and faced Mr.
Chester, who boasted he had served Her Majesty as an
officer (E.I.C.) for twenty years — nine months of each
year in harbour, I suppose, and the other three getting
in and out of it ! — and gave him such a talking to as I
think he little expected ; and then Mr. Romilly chipped
in, and, I think, he made little by his motion either.
After that they let me alone, confining themselves to
their own troubles ; for they had already begun to
squabble amongst themselves.

And no mean squabbling either, when one potentate
applies the term " whiskey-skin " to another potentate,
and that potentate looks as if he would like to "go for "
the first potentate, and is only restrained from doing so
by the first potentate's big stick ! A scene such as I
have faintly hinted at occurred one day in the saloon of
the Victoria, causing me to chuckle — inwardly.

But let us 2:0 back to Townsville. Before we sailed,

o

the Admiral of the Australian Squadron had been tele-
graphed to with a request that one of the war-ships
should be sent to attend on the Victoria, in case of her
getting on a reef! Luckily, all the Admiral's ships
were better employed, so we were spared this crowning
act of folly.

After all, the whole of the Louisiade and New Guinea
boys, then in Queensland, did not return home with us.
Notwithstanding all the inducements held out to them,
fifty-eight refused to abandon their employers and break
their agreement ! These fifty-eight worked out their
three years' in Queensland.

The Rev. Mr. Lawes, a missionary in New Guinea, ad-
dressed a letter to " The Brisbane Courier," July 25, 1885.
In this he regretted that these fifty-eight boys were not
obliged by the Government to return home. He con-
sidered that the chiefs and their friends would not be
satisfied by the assertions of Messrs. Romilly and Chester

372 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

that the boys did not want to return home till they had
fulfilled their engagements. Apparently, Mr. Lawes
considered that these boys ought not to enjoy any free-
will at all in the matter.

Many of the islanders we had shipped at Townsville
had been brought to Queensland by me. When they
came on board I was on shore. On my return to the
ship, I think some of the Government party were rather
astonished to see several of these natives meet me at the
gangway, shake hands with me, and greet me in a most
friendly manner. Even such of them as could not speak
more than a word or two of English, gave me a friendly
grin, and often a hand-clasp. This was not the sort of
welcome one would have expected a kidnapper to receive
from his victims !

Among those who greeted me was one named Dixon,
a European name given to him by the beche-de-mer
collectors for whom he had worked. Dixon and another,
" Sandfly," — he had served for some time on board
H.M.S. Sandfly, — had been specially mentioned in the
Report of the Royal Commission, and what they had said
to the Commissioners had " knocked " me.

In their Report of the first voyage of the Lizzie, the
Commissioners had said : —

" The first boy presented — at Hamleigh plantation —
was Dixon, who had quite a pat story that he had been
recruited to ' work sugar in Queensland for three yams'
(years)."

Then, a little further on, they say : —

"At the close of our examination of the Hamleigh
labourers, which lasted a week, Dixon and Sandfly ap-
peared and withdrew their former statements, which had
been made under fear of Mr. Cowley, and said they had
been recruited for only three moons."

It was this that had puzzled me — that two islanders
should come forward and voluntarily admit to the Com-
missioners themselves that they had told them a lie a

BOYS INSTRUCTED TO LIE. 373

week before. Much more likely they would have said
to themselves : " A week has passed ; the white men
have not found out the lie ; let it go."

No. There must have been somebody in the back-
ground ; and very possibly, I thought, Cago had been
that somebody.

When I questioned Dixon that day on the deck of
the Victoria about this recantation of theirs, he said : —

" Cappen, you been take me along three year. Me,
Sandfly, both speak, three year. By-and-by, boy belong
island ; he speak : ' What for you speak three year ?
Very good, you speak three moon. Suppose you no
speak three moon, altogether, boy, he stop Queens-
land three year. No good.' Me think all the boy want
to kill me ; then me, Sandfly, go back and speak we
come along three moon."

" Did Cago ever talk to you about what you should
say ? Did he say you would go back soon if you said
' three moon ' ? " I asked.

" Yes ; Cago, he speak all-a-same plenty time."

Not much time was lost at Townsville, for we steamed
out of Cleveland Bay again, going north, about 1 1 p.m.
the same night, June 13. The following afternoon we
ran through the Barrier by the Flora Pass, and headed
for Port Moresby in New Guinea.

It took us two days to run the distance — 420 miles,
across to Port Moresby ; for the old Vic was quite con-
tented with eight knots an hour, and occasionally a little
better when she had her square canvas set, and a fresh
breeze aft. I think it was during one of these two even-
ings at sea that the three newspaper reporters paid a
visit with me to the islanders' quarters on the lower deck.
Of course they were on the look-out for material for their
different papers, so I took care to point out to them any-
thing that seemed worth their attention.

It was supposed that the ship had been fitted out in
accordance with the regulations of the Polynesian Labour

374 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Act. However, the amount of space allotted for the
islanders' accommodation was far less than it should have
been. We had 404 islanders on board, and the space
between decks was not more than sufficient for 258. I
took the trouble to measure it, and make calculations.
Out of this, sufficient room for nine or ten men had been
allotted to two sick boys alone.

Looking down the fore-hatch, we saw 128 boys scat-
tered, asleep on planks thrown down on the top of the
coals in the lower hold. As we peered down the open
hatch, and the dim rays of our lantern made visible the
figures of the slumbering islanders, sprawling about in
all sorts of attitudes on the coals, some ten or twelve feet
beneath us, somebody remarked that the sight reminded
him of an illustration in Dante's " Inferno."

" Hell asleep, with the fire out ! " rejoined another.

The smell arising from 404 " nigs " would not be a
pleasant one at any time. When jammed together as
these were, on a warm night in the tropics, on board a
steamer with furnaces at full blast, the smell of that lower
deck was something that no man would revel in. To
make matters worse, when the first mate spoke of wash-
ing and cleansing the lower deck, the morning after we
left Townsville, Mr. Chester and Dr. Smith objected to
it, being under the impression that the damp would cause
many of the islanders to catch cold.

It seems almost incredible that from June 11, when
the first batch was shipped at Mackay, and the I3th,
when we took the rest on board at Townsville, notwith-
standing that many of the boys, when outside the
" Barrier," were sea-sick and unable to get on deck to the
latrines, that lower deck in the mainhold was not cleansed,
except for a very slight touch with the broom, for nearly
three weeks. It is a wonder to me how even the
islanders were able to sleep there and keep their health.
Surely a good washing could have done them no more
harm on board the Victoria than on board a " labour "

WHERE ARE WE ? 375

schooner, where the " 'tween decks " are washed out
thoroughly every morning- when the weather suits.

But, of course, "new chum" doctors must know more
about islanders than a " slaving skipper."

This was my first and last visit to the lower deck of
the Victoria. One of the Naval Brigade men, who, in
his turn, was " shadowed " by one of the crew, had
followed us round the islanders' quarters, and reported
every word and action of ours to the authorities.

Next day an order was issued to the sentry at the
main-hatch by Mr. Chester, which ran to this effect : —

" The pilot is not to be allowed below in the islanders'
quarters, as his presence and conversation tend to make
the boys discontented."

On the evening of the i yth, Captain Ballistier reckoned
we were about twenty miles from the opening in the
New Guinea barrier reef leading to Port Moresby. The
wind was then blowing a moderate south-east "trade,"
with a good deal of sea on, and fine but very hazy
weather. The ship was brought to the wind at half-
speed, first on one tack and then on the other, and we
rolled and tumbled about all night in a most uncomfort-
able manner. At daylight next morning no land was in
sight, the haze preventing us from making out anything
beyond five or six miles from the ship. However, we
were steaming in what Captain Ballistier thought was
the right direction for Port Moresby.

About 10 a.m. there was a cry of "Land ahead!"
Looming up through the haze, a small, low, wooded islet
of inconsiderable size appeared right ahead.

Fisherman I., near the entrance to Port Moresby, the
captain thought. Mr. Chester presently came up on to
the bridge with two Port Moresby boys we were taking
home. They had been serving as interpreters on board
a man-of-war. He was of the same opinion.

This gentleman, by the way, had been to Port Moresby
on two former occasions. As an old naval officer, he

376 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

might have been supposed to have " taken stock " of its
surroundings.

The ship was then kept away to pass to leeward of the
island, as Mr. Chester and the boys said there was a
good passage on that side, although the passage that has
been recommended and surveyed is on the south-east.

Now, it happened that the island ahead of us seemed
to me to be hardly a quarter the size of Fisherman I., as
it was represented on the Admiralty Chart. I ventured
to give the captain a hint that perhaps they were mis-
taken, although Mr. Chester had been to Port Moresby,
and I had never been near it.

I ran my eye over the chart, getting the coast-line —
islets and reefs — for twenty miles on each side of the
port well impressed on my mind. Then I went up to
the fore-yard, whence I had a good "bird's-eye" view.

The islet was small, and from it a barrier reef, enclos-
ing a lagoon, with the loom of high land beyond it,
stretched away south-east for miles, until lost in the haze.
To the north-west, on the other side of the islet, there
were no breakers. A long, sunken coral spit, showing
a bright light green amidst the blue of the deep water, ran
out for a mile or more. The ship was then heading
straight for this spit at half-speed. I saw immediately
where we were.

I was soon down from aloft, and in the chart- room
on the bridge.

" Here's where we are, Captain," I said, putting my
finger on " Aplin I." on the chart. " That's not Fisher-
man I. ; we are miles to leeward of it."

" That is Fisherman I.," asserted a gruff voice outside.

The skipper was puzzled for a moment.

" Do as you think fit, Captain," I continued. " Keep
on, and in a quarter of an hour you'll have your ship on
that spit ahead. We're close to it now."

Captain Ballistier then saw the danger.

" Pilot, will you take the ship into Port Moresby ?

A NARROW ESCAPE. 377

You've had more experience than I have amongst
reefs."

" I will," I said.

Then to the man at the wheel : —

" Hard-a-starboard ! " At the same moment I jerked
the telegraph handle to " Full speed ahead ! "

We were so close to the reef, with the ship's head
lying about north, that there was hardly room to turn
her eastward, the shortest way to bring her head to
south-east, in which direction we now had to steer, dead
in the teeth of wind and sea.

"By Jove!" I thought to myself; "if I've made a
mistake and a fool of myself, what a commencement to
my piloting, and won't they grin aft ! "

But I had made no mistake. Three hours' hard
steaming brought us up to the real Fisherman L, low and
wooded like Aplin I., but six times as long, and thus
easily distinguishable from it.

On our way, I had made a rough sketch on paper of
the entrance to, and anchorage in, Port Moresby, from
the Admiralty plan. With this stowed into the breast-
pocket of my grey shirt — white shirts and blue cloth
won't do for a fore-yard, with the smoky top of a
steamer's funnel near you — I climbed up aloft, and piloted
the ship into harbour and safe anchorage.

This mode of piloting may seem infra dig. to many
masters of ships, but it is absolutely necessary in the un-
surveyed waters of coral seas. Even where surveyed,
if they have not been beaconed or buoyed, it is impossible
to distinguish a sunken patch with, say, ten or twelve
feet of water on it, from the bridge or quarter-deck, in
time to avoid " knocking it."

I know three or four skippers in the labour trade who
would scorn to go above the shear poles. But they have
all left their marks, here and there, on coral patches
among the New Hebrides and the Solomon groups.

I thank my stars that I have a good eye for colour, so

378 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

as to detect shallow water. Also that I have some
ability for climbing — first contracted in my apple-stealing
days, I suppose — so that I have managed to get through
my Pacific experience without damaging any reefs,
barring once, in the Bobtail Nag, and then it took a
whole hurricane to put me ashore.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE CRUISE OF THE VICTORIA (continued}.

Port Moresby — Anabata — Native houses — Our steam- launcli and
boats — Complaints — Jerry, the interpreter — Prohibitions —
Trading not permitted — Planning the route — My duties —
First mistake of the officials — Protection Bay — I am forbidden
to go ashore — And disobey — Interviewing the natives — Official
' ' 'funk " — ' ' Savage and warlike ! " — Killer ton — A n imposing
ceremony — Mr. Romillys great speech — " A fair acquaintance
with the dialects /" — Backivards and fonvards — Kidnapped !
— A peace-offering declined — The Samoa — My letters opened
— Another ceremony — A "jolly" reception — The Woodlark Is.
— Hazy weather — Landing in the dark — The lower deck
washed — Hiliivao — Last speech of the voyage — I take a nap —
A glass of whiskey — Pumping the pilot ! — Direction of the
voyage accorded to me — Our list of passengers — Dodging
about — Bramble Pass — Difficult navigation — JMy skirmishes
with the skipper — Coral Haven — Sudest I. — The last boy
landed — Extract from "The Brisbane Courier" — How the
boys were coached up — The doctor's stories — An unpublished
incident — Return to Sydney — End of the cruise.

PORT Moresby has been so often described in various
books on New Guinea, that I need say but little about
it. It is a large bay, about four miles long, on the
south-western coast of the south-eastern promontory of
New Guinea. Mt. Owen Stanley, supposed to be the
highest mountain in the island, towers up 13,000 feet
above it, some forty miles inland.

The land surrounding Port Moresby is poor, and fresh
water is not plentiful. The principal native village.
Anabata, is close to the European settlement, on the
south-eastern shore. I rambled through this village
during our stay, which only lasted twenty-four hours.

38o THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Anabata strongly reminded me of what I have read of
the abodes of the ancient lake-dwellers. The houses are
all built on piles over the water, just below high-water
mark, which obviates any necessity for sewers, apparently.
They are generally two-storied, the lower floor being
open at the sides and ends. They have high thatched
roofs, peaked up at either end. The lower storey usually
serves as a depository for fishing gear, provisions, etc.,
the inmates living on the uppermost. Capital houses are
these in case of attack from native enemies, armed with
no better weapons than spears and arrows. Nor would
a gale of wind hurt them much ; for the barrier reef
effectually prevents heavy seas from entering the port.

Two English missionaries were settled here: the Revs.
Lawes and Chalmers. Our officials were desirous that
one of these gentlemen should accompany them on the
cruise, but Mr. Chalmers was absent somewhere along
the coast, and Mr. Lawes could not leave on that
account.

I have already intimated that we carried a steam-
launch, the engine of which occupied a portion of the
space below, in the islanders' quarters, the boat itself
taking up no little room on deck. The ship also carried
six ordinary boats, more than sufficient for all the work
required. Besides the regular crew, two Polynesian
boatmen had been shipped in Sydney, and two or three
more were engaged at Port Moresby.

However, neither our own boats nor our boatmen suited
the officials. They saw fit to borrow the missionaries'
surf-boat, erroneously termed a " whale-boat." When the
work of landing commenced, the Kanaka boatmen were
rejected in favour of Naval Brigade men. They would
have found out the difference had any of the boats been
capsized !

Great complaints were made, on our return, that the
A.S.N. Co. had not provided the ship with proper
boatmen — quite without reason. But, from the very

JERRY, THE INTERPRETER, 381

beginning of the voyage, it seemed to be the bounden
duty of some of the officials to find all the faults they
could, or imagine them, in the ship and her outfit.

Mr. Musgrave left us, landing at Port Moresby on the
morning of the eighteenth. We then weighed anchor,
and, passing out through the barrier, we steamed along
the coast towards South Cape, where it was supposed
we had two boys to land. On nearing the cape, how-
ever, it was discovered that no natives of that part
were on board ; so we kept away again for Suckling
Reef, on the south-west of the Louisiade. On the
eastern side of this is Basilisk Passage, through which
Teste I. and the south-eastern capes of New Guinea can
be reached.

Shortly after daylight on the twentieth, we cleared
Suckling Reef, and steamed northward to Teste I., off
which we brought to, allowing the Government party to
visit the shore. There they engaged Jerry, a well-known
mission teacher. He had been one of the witnesses in
the Forest King case, and when under cross-examination
then had proved himself to be an accomplished successor
of Ananias. Jerry's services were now required as an
interpreter.

That morning a written notice was displayed on the
quarter-deck of the Victoria, which occasioned no little
sensation and adverse criticism. It informed the crentle-

o

men of the Press that, during the cruise, only one of them
at a time would be allowed to accompany landing parties,
and then, only when there was no chance of overcrowding
the landing or covering boats.

What a lot of difference it made, whether one or three
of the Press correspondents joined a party comprising
from a dozen to twenty Europeans !

Second, the ship's company in general was informed
that trading on shore was prohibited, as tending to create
dangerous excitement and confusion !

The last regulation was more absurd than the first.

382 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Here we had two men, Romilly and Chester, whose
names were affixed to the document, and who were
supposed to have some acquaintance with native character,
actually prohibiting what would most please the natives,
viz., buying whatever they had to sell !

Before we left Sydney, a quantity of "trade" had been
put on board the Victoria, for the purpose of enabling
the steward to purchase fresh provisions — pigs, fowls, etc.
Of this Messrs. Romilly and Chester were well aware,
and I think they must have wished to baulk the steward.
Pigs and fowls were obtainable in the western islands of
the Louisiade, near the mainland of New Guinea ; but
they would not permit trading until we got to the south-
eastern portion of the Archipelago, where neither pigs
nor fowls could be had for love or money.

There was a small matter I ought to mention, which
occurred either just before, or very shortly after, our visit
to Port Moresby.

We were all seated at the cuddy table at dinner one day,
when, after a pause in the general conversation, Mr.
Romilly observed to Captain Ballistier, that it would be
well if he, the captain, Mr. Chester, " and — er — er — the
pilot ! " were to plan out the route through the islands
that the vessel should take for landing the boys.

Now, whether the representative of the Imperial
Government thought that I, as an inferior, should have
"chipped in" there and then, and given my advice, I
cannot say ; but I heard nothing more of the matter.

I had nothing to do with the landing of the islanders.
My business was to take the ship wherever Captain
Ballistier might direct me. If Mr. Romilly or Captain
Ballistier had asked my advice as to our route, I would
have given it willingly, for the sake of my employers.
But this neither of them did, and, consequently, a nice
mess they made of it. At last, in the middle of the
voyage, after wasting both time and coals, they were
obliged to leave the route entirely at my discretion.

MY WILFUL DISOBEDIEh^c. ! 383

They cannot say that, after we left Norman by I. for
good, we ever passed twice over the same ground
unnecessarily.

From Teste I., by the captain's direction, I took the
ship into China Strait, between Hayter I. and the main-
land of New Guinea. There, as the day was drawing to
a close, I anchored her in Protection Bay.

This was the first mistake made by Messrs. Romilly
and Chester. The Engineer Is. should have been
previously visited ; then Kitai and Moresby Is. Next,
we should have gone on to Killerton, thence to Lyclia
and Normanby Is., passing close to the East Cape of
New Guinea, by the channel I had taken the Lizzie
through.

When we anchored in Protection Bay, there were still
two hours of daylight remaining. So the newspaper
correspondents asked Captain Ballistier to let them have
one of the smaller boats in which to go ashore. For
there was no danger to an armed party, at that place, at
any rate, so long as they kept within rifle-shot of the
ship. The matter was referred to Messrs. Romilly and
Chester. The latter at first refused to o^ive his consent,

o

and I believe Mr. Romilly declined to interfere. I was
not acquainted with the full details of the ship's charter-
party, but I very much doubt if the Queensland G. A.
had the power to forbid the sending away of a boat, if
the master chose to do so.

At last, after a good deal of growling, leave was
granted to the three Press-men to take the dingy — the
smallest and also the worst boat in the ship, had there
really been any danger in venturing ashore. They were
to pull the boat themselves, though, and the whole party
was placed in charge of one of the secretaries.

I buckled on my revolver, and, with my double-
barrelled gun, set about taking my seat in the boat also.

" Pilot ! " murmured the skipper in my ear, as I stood
at the gangway. " Mr. Griffith telegraphed that you

384 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

were not to be allowed to go ashore anywhere in the
islands."

" D n Mr. Griffith ! I'm not his servant, andjy0#

can't stop me ! "

Then, in answer to my inquiries, Messrs. Romilly and
Chester said that they objected, but had not the power
to prevent me. So away I went.

We pulled to the shore, with visions of pigeon shoot-
ing. For the creamy and black New Guinea pigeon
abounds in these islands. But, before I had gone a
dozen yards into the bush, I was called back. They
were going to visit a village on the south side of the
bay. Here also we landed, but did not go far from the
boat.

There were about half a dozen houses in this village,
built on piles, about fifty yards from the water. They
had the usual low walls, with thatched roofs peaked up
at the ends, gable-wise. Not a native was visible when
the boat touched the rocks, but presently, when we
landed, an ugly old woman, clad in a long loose calico
bag — I cannot call it a gown — appeared, and shook hands
with us all. Then half a dozen more women, a shade
less ugly, turned up, with half a score of children. Lastly,
three old men. all unarmed, put in an appearance.

We did a little jabbering in broken English, which
lasted a few minutes. Then one of the old men
innocently rambled towards the boat.

" Don't let them get between us and the boat !"
exclaimed our pro tern, guardian, the secretary ; and im-
mediately darted into it, calling us all to follow. One
of the correspondents and myself exchanged expressive
looks, as we obeyed orders ; and then we returned to
the ship.

I mention this little incident, which was but one of
scores like it that occurred later on, to show the amount
of " funk " exhibited by some of our officials. Either
they were really frightened, or else they wished to make

"SAVAGE AND WARLIKE!" 385

their work appear much more dangerous than it actually
was. There was hardly any probability of natives
attacking white men in the presence of such a large
vessel as the Victoria, with sixty Europeans on board of
her.

I remember that, later on, when we were anchored in
Coral Haven, I was refused permission to take a boat a
few hundred yards away from the ship in order to get
some mangrove oysters. I was told, though I had
already visited that place three times, that the natives
were " savage and warlike." That phrase came out of
" Findlay's Directory." There would be danger in
venturing near them, it was said. At that very time
there was a small ketch, with a three-foot free-board,
and only three white men in her, lying at anchor half a
mile off, trading with natives in canoes alongside.

I never went to the South Sea Islands with such a
seemingly timid lot in my life, either before or since !

Next morning we steamed to Killerton, on the south
side of the East Cape of New Guinea. This was the
" show-place " of the trip.

As soon as we had anchored, steam was got up in the
launch, which had been hoisted off the ship's deck and
lowered into the water, previous to our arrival. Then
the Killerton boys, fifty in number, the largest batch to
be landed at any one place, were mustered and told off
into two of the ship's boats, their property, in the shape
of blankets and " trade," being conveyed in another boat.
The launch towed these boats away from the gangway,
and then waited for the Port Moresby surf-boat. This
was manned by Naval Brigade men, and conveyed the
Government officials. The little clingy was allotted to
the members of the Press.

To do honour to the occasion, our officials made a
grand display of blue cloth, gold lace, and gilt buttons, as
well as of clean white linen. Towards the end of the
voyage, however, the gold lace and finery were stowed

c c

386 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

away in portmanteaux, and the linen had contracted a
somewhat discoloured appearance.

A prominent feature of the official's boat was an arm-
chair. Mr. Romilly was lame, and required a seat when
interviewing the chiefs and elders. All the boats were

o

towed in a string by the launch to a sandy beach on one
of the Killerton islets, where the entire party landed.

The men of the Naval Brigade were drawn up in
line ; Mr. Romilly placed himself in his chair, with Cago
beside him to interpret, and lit a cigar, while a crowd of
natives squatted or stood around.

I watched the proceedings from the ship, and was
furnished with full details by the newspaper reporters,
when they returned on board, an hour or two later.

One of Mr. Romilly's speeches, as reported by the
correspondent of " The Courier," was a caution !

Mr. R. to Cago. — '' You speak same time as yester-
day, you say we bring plenty [boy] along ship ;
Government of Queensland send him back. Man no
savee why he come. Queen Victoria, he send him back
home ; plenty tomahawk, plenty tobacco, you speak ! "
Then Cago interpreted.

Mr. R., continuing. — " You speak ; man he stop long
time Queensland, some man he die, some man he dead."
(Cago interprets.) " Queensland Government, every man
he die, he send him one fellow all the same them," point-
ing to the bundles of trade. " Five man he die, he send
five all the same." Mr. Chester, pointing, says, " Pre-
sents, tomahawk, blanket, knife." Then Cago again
interprets.

Mr. R. — " You savee friend along him die, father,
mother; he take him that fellow!" (Cago interprets.)
" You speak, Queen Victoria, he look out all man stop
this place. Ship, he no come. Queen Victoria, he look
out no man he come here."

Cago interprets.

" I don't think there's any more to say."

DIFFICULTIES OF INTERCOURSE. 387

Mr. Chester.—" No."

On subsequent occasions the speeches were shorter,
and as we progressed towards the end of the voyage,
were dispensed with altogether. Business having been
finished at Killerton, the anchor was tripped, and we ran
towards East Cape, near which a few other boys were to
be landed.

Unluckily, Mr. Chester and his secretary — who " had
a fair acquaintance with the dialects ! "-—were but poor
hands at making themselves understood, and equally in-
capable of comprehending the meaning of the islanders'
broken English and signs. Cago and his brethren were
not much better.

The landing-place turned out to be on the farther
side of the cape. So much time was taken up in reach-
ing it in the boats, and in returning from it, that night
had fallen before I could get the steamer back to Protec-
tion Bay. I had to keep her under way all night, in
Milne Bay ; — not a pleasant job in such narrow waters, on
a dark night with hazy weather. At sunrise, next morn-
ing, I ran back through China Strait, and, coasting east-
ward along the southern shores of Hayter, Basilisk, and
Moresby Is., anchored in Pitt Bay, on the east of the last
mentioned.

Off the southern arm of this bay lies the small island
of Kitai. Now, when I was running through the deep
channel separating Moresby and Kitai, during my second
voyage in the Lizzie, I picked up a native who swam off
to the ship. This man could have had no object in so
doing, if it were not to join the ship, which he signified
his wish to do directly he got on deck. Yet the Royal
Commission reported that he had been kidnapped !

I attempted to converse with this man on several
occasions, but his knowledge of English was extremely
limited, and he seemed rather indisposed to talk at all,
so that I could get no satisfaction out of him. Besides,
it was not pleasant that, every time one spoke to an

388 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

islander, a Naval Brigade man should lounge carelessly
up, within hearing, taking stock of all one said. But why
particularize each day's doings ?

From Moresby I. we went on to the Engineer Is., a
few miles east, landing men on each of them. A night
was passed at anchor under Slade I.

There, a short time previously, a trader named Reid
had been murdered by the natives. They seemed to
think that the Victoria was a ship of war, which had
been sent to punish them. Pigs were presented to Mr.
Romilly, as a peace-offering, but were declined with
thanks. The women brought heavy loads of native
vegetables to the beach, to barter ; but no trading was
allowed, much to the disgust of the natives, as well as of
the steward, who was quite prepared to buy pigs, fowls,
or vegetables. However, it is comforting to reflect that
the officials had to suffer for it afterwards, when there
was nothing but " salt horse " to set before them !

From the Engineer Is. we went on to Lydia I., pass-
ing through a deep though narrow channel between
Cape Ventenat, on the south-east of Normanby I., and
the extensive " Gallows Reef." We became pretty in-
timate with this channel ; for I navigated it no less
than four times, before our officials discovered that I
was more competent than themselves to determine what
route we should pursue, in order to get our coloured
passengers landed without waste of time, and without
traversing the ground twice over.

From Lydia I. we steamed past Cape Ventenat again,
where we spoke the German steamer Samoa, bound to
the German portion of New Guinea, and thence to Cook-
town, Queensland. On board of her was the well-
known Dr. Finsch. Messrs. Chester and Lawrie, with
the newspaper correspondents, went on board of her.
I seized the opportunity, also, to send a letter to my
friend, the late Mr. Samuel Hodgson, of Brisbane.

This letter arrived safely, but was delivered to Mr.

"A JOLLY RECEPTION." 389

Hodgson with the envelope unfastened. It had been
opened, and, of course, perused, by order of Mr.
Griffith. Several other letters of mine were also
opened in the Post Office about this time. I suppose
Mr. Griffith was hunting for evidence upon which to
prosecute me. If he was, he was sold !

A few boys were landed near Cape Ventenat, and, at
one place, there appeared a very great chance of a row.

The officials landed in force at a spot where some five
hundred natives were assembled. The Naval Brigade
men were quickly surrounded by an excited mob of
natives, all armed, whereas not a single rifle of theirs
contained a cartridge. Had the natives attacked them,

o

all the whites must have orone down to a man.

o

My notes, taken from a description of the scene by
one of the correspondents, have — " Chester excited,
giving away tobacco ; Brigade men in line, with empty
rifles, surrounded ; confusion ; no speech heard, shout-
ing and bawling on both sides." The whole party got
away safely, however.

Two or three days were spent at Normanby I., and
then Welle I. was visited. There, at Sonoroa village,
the crew of the Hopeful had committed some of their
evil deeds. Trouble was consequently expected ; so
this time the Brigade men landed with loaded arms.
But they met with quite " a jolly reception," according
to the correspondents. The natives were all in good
temper, shouting and laughing. As soon as Mr. Romilly
had delivered his speech, however, and a few pounds of
tobacco had been distributed, the visitors got away back
to the ship as speedily as possible.

The ship's head was then turned north-east, towards
the Woodlark Is. As we had to tow the steam-launch,
we were only able to make half-speed, owing to the head
wind and the sea. Arrived at the group, no landing was
attempted. Several natives, who approached the boats
when they were in shallow water, seemed sulky, and as

390 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

though on their guard. The majority of the inhabitants
kept themselves aloof, close to the cover of the forest.

At last, about a dozen or more strolled down towards
the boats. The returning islanders were quickly bundled
into the shallow water, with their effects, and the boats
shoved off acjain.

o

So far on our voyage the wind had blown continuously
from east-south-east, with remarkably hazy weather. So
thick, in fact, was this haze, that it almost amounted to a
fog. While we were in China Straits, it was so dense
that, at times, objects were barely visible at a distance of
two or three miles. Once, I remember, I was hardly
able to make out a point not much more than a mile off.

The atmosphere now became bright and clear — a sign
of northerly winds. The refraction was so great, that
when we were steaming up to the Marshall Bennett Is.,
quite half of the peak on Goodenough I. (7,000 ft.)
was visible from the deck, though we were ninety miles
distant from the island.

After calling at the Marshall Bennett group, we visited
Jouveney I., and then Jurien I., landing men at each.
We then went back to Evans I., a coral atoll we had
already passed, while going from Normanbyto Woodlark
I. We had only one boy to land there. I hove to after
dark in the evening, and he was bundled ashore, anyhow
—by the light of a policeman's lantern — at the first
smooth landing-place that the boat's crew could find ;
being left to make his way home as best he could.

By this time our officials had discovered that even
they, despite the assistance of their precious inter-
preters, were liable to make a mistake occasionally ; also,
that it was not such an easy matter, as they had at first
imagined, to discover the exact positions of the different
native villages the several " returns " belonged to. For
instance, after all their questioning of the boys through
Cago & Co., Hiliwao village was undiscoverable where
they thought to have found it. When its true position

CLEANSING THE LOWER DECK. 391

was at last ascertained, I had to take the ship between
Cape Ventenat and Gallows Reef again, and so on to the
south-west of Fergusson I.

It was while we were steaming up to Hiliwao, on July
i, that the after-part of the lower deck was washed down,
for the first time since the embarkation of the islanders.
The greasy filth that was then expelled from the scuppers
sufficed to keep our wake smooth for more than a mile
astern, though the fresh trade-wind then blowing cov-
ered all the rest of the sea with "white caps." For-
tunate it was for us that, so far, we had experienced no
bad weather, and only two or three showers of rain, of
very short duration. The hatchways had thus been
always open, affording thorough ventilation to the
islanders' quarters. Otherwise, such an accumulation of
filth would infallibly have caused disease, in some form
or other.

Heaving to off Hiliwao, rather late in the afternoon,
we landed eight men who had been brought thence by
the Hopeful, with bundles of "trade" for the relatives of
eight more who had died in Queensland. Mr. Romilly
made the last speech of the voyage there. As soon as
it had been delivered, the party returned on board — and
not too soon, for night was coming on, the wind was
rising, the sky becoming clouded, and there was every
prospect of a dirty night in unsurveyed waters. As it
was impossible to tow the launch against the wind, and
such a sea as was then on, it had to be hoisted on
board.

Luckily the night turned out better than I had hoped.
The wind died away, and the sky cleared, very soon after
we started. Before one o'clock in the morning, we were
abreast of the south-western cape of Normanby I. There
I slowed down, and headed for the channel I had thrice
before travelled, between Gallows Reef and Cape Ven-
tenat. Even a pilot must have a sleep now and then ;
so I gave orders that I was to be called when the first of

392 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the two islets — "Jack" and " Ketch " — on Gallows Reef
should be sighted, and laid myself down to get a nap on
the settee in the chart-room.

Now, there was only one man of the entire ship's
company who had " cottoned " to the Government party.
This was the chief mate. Even the hands forward had
their squabbles with the " Brigade " men. As for the
skipper, as he told me himself, he wished to keep friends
with everybody — a very laudable wish, no doubt. Un-
fortunately, I fancy he fell between two stools. These
were — the Queensland Government, as represented by
Chester & Co., and the A.S. N. Co. According to the
first, everything about the ship was wrong. The outfit,
the boatmen, the boats, and the provisions, were all
deficient. So was the navigation. All the ship's com-
pany, excepting the chief mate, resented the expression
of these opinions.

I had just turned down the lamp in the chart-room, and
stretched myself on the settee, when " tap, tap," went
somebody's knuckles on the door.

" Who's there ? " I asked ; and the door opened
and admitted the chief mate, with a tumbler in his
hand.

" Would you like a glass of whiskey. Pilot ? " said he.

" Will a duck swim ? " rejoined I.

The steward had " turned in " some time before, and
I had consequently missed my usual night-cap ; so the
mate's whiskey was welcome. " But what's in the wind
now ?" thought I, for the mate and I were at logger-
heads, and some hard words had even passed between
us already.

" Where are you going to steer for next, Pilot ? " he
presently asked. Then I felt happy, for this apprised
me that the official party were puzzled what to do, and
wanted my assistance.

" Don't know," I said ; " better ask 'em aft. I go
where ' the old man ' tells me. Good-night ! "

CHOICE OF ROUTE LEFT TO ME. 393

I rolled over on the settee with my face from the light,
and the mate took his departure for the quarter-deck, no
doubt with the conviction that he had wasted a glass of
whiskey. It was not ship's whiskey, either ; I perceived
that. Most likely it had come out of Mr. Chester's own
bottle. What a duffer they must have thought me !

At dawn, the second mate — " Jack Bluff," we called
him — roused me up. We were then close to the passage.
By six o'clock we had passed through it, heading east-
ward at half-speed. Then I went aft to ask Captain
Ballistier where I was to take the ship next. Five
minutes later he was on the bridge with me.

o

" Pilot," said the skipper, as nearly as I remember,
" Mr. Romilly and Mr. Chester will leave the route to
you for the future. Take the ship to the boys' homes
by the shortest way. They leave it all to you."

For a moment I was inclined to refuse the responsi-
bility, which, after all, did not amount to much. But I
remembered that I had promised Captain Tronton that
I would shove the ship through as quickly as I could.

They had ignored me at the beginning of the voyage,
when planning out their intended route ; although Mr.
Romilly had mentioned me, in the presence of all, as one
of the committee — I suppose I may call it that. Now,
after slighting and even insulting me, with their talk
about "slavers" and " kidnappers "—one of them called
me " a d— — d kidnapper " to my face, one day on
deck — they wanted my help, and were not men enough
to ask me for it themselves.

However, I agreed to what the skipper — as their
mouth-piece — asked of me, provided I was furnished
with the Immigration Office list of the remaining boys'
names, with their respective islands and villages. This of
course was forthcoming, and a nice old list it was. Each

<% *

Government agent had adopted his own peculiar style of
orthography, and the whole had been so hashed up and
bedevilled by the office clerks, that I had to personally

394 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

question all the boys on board, so as to ascertain their
real names, and where they were to be landed.

I chose my own interpreters, dispensing with the aid
of Cago & Co. The inevitable Naval Brigade man
also got — and took — a broad hint to keep clear of me.
After that the work of landing went on as quickly as
any one could wish, no ground being passed over twice
or time unnecessarily lost.

From Cape Ventenat, I went eastward to the Redlick
Is., where two or three boys were landed, miles away
from any village. Then I crossed the intervening
channel to St. Aignan, along which we coasted. Then
the Renard Is. received a few of their lost ones. During
the following night the ship was kept "dodging " outside
the northern barrier reef, abreast of Piron and Sudest Is.

I might have gone eastward, round the archipelago to
its south side, entering the lagoon by Johnston Pass.
But the sea was running heavily, and I hoped to save
time and coal, by taking the " Bramble " Pass into
" Coral Haven." I had never before used this channel,
though I had viewed it from the inside. H.M.S.
Bramble, though only " a little "un," had gone through
it in years long gone by, and given it the name it bears.

Early next morning I steamed in for the " barrier," a
little to the north-west of Piron I. Skirting the reef, I
soon came to the Pass, and took a good look at it from
aloft, " end on." It appeared straight enough, certainly,
with a spit from the eastern side overlapping the inner
end. But it was very narrow for a vessel the size of the
Victoria. Her bows, since she had been lightened of
passengers and coals, stuck up in the air, and would
surely cause her to "pay off," if the trade-wind fresh-
ened up while we were in the passage. However, at
present it was calm, and I put her to it at full speed,
conning her from the foreyard.

The skipper was on the bridge, and as soon as the
ship was fairly in the "alley-way," he was " on pins-and-

THROUGH BRAMBLE PASS. 395

needles," evidently. First he had a look at the reef, a
few yards off on one side ; then he ran to the other, and
found himself as close to danger on that. Next moment
his hand was on the engine-room telegraph.

" Don't move that telegraph, Captain ! " I roared out ;
for I was watching him as well as the ship.

" I'm not going to have the ship's bottom torn out ! "
I expected to hear him reply, for he said as much
when we were going into Port Moresby, under similar
circumstances.

" If you dorit let that telegraph alone," I continued,
" I'll come down, and you may get her through as you
can ! The worst is to come yet."

That brought him to his senses, and he let the tele-
graph alone. We had had two or three little skirmishes
on the voyage, and he had learnt by experience that he
would be left in the lurch, if he did not give me full
control of the navigation.

A few minutes took her through ; the rudder, hard-a-
port, bringing her head to westward, clear of the over-
lapping spit. Once past that, we were in the more open
water of Coral Haven. We lay there in a secure anchor-
age, whilst the boats landed the boys belonging to that
neighbourhood.

About this time, the officials gave permission to us to
trade for food with the natives. But it came too late,
for nothing was to be got, either for love or for money.
Cabin stores, which had been intended only to supple-
ment supplies obtained at the islands, began to run
short. Consequently, there was considerable growling,
both forward and aft.

We next coasted Sudest I., calling at Grass (or Garnim)
and Briarley (or Duddakai), islands lying on our course.
At Conde Point we turned back, and passing along the
Calvados Chain, steered westward for Teste I. There
we landed the last boy, Bakara. He was a native of
Teste, but had been recruited by me at Conde Point,

396 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Sudest I. I think I have mentioned that I released
him from a state of slavery, in which he had been held
there.

When we were in the neighbourhood of Grass I., one
of the reporters, Mr. Livesey, interviewed some of the
boys who had been brought to Queensland by me. The
result may be gathered from the following extract from
his account of the voyage, published in "The Brisbane
Courier" : —

Several of the boys from the neighbourhood of Sudest could speak
very fair English, and it was with these I spoke on the eve of their leav-
ing the ship. A native of Grass Island, Sandfly by name, according to
the evidence printed by the Commission, made two very conflicting
statements when examined at the Hamleigh sugar plantation, on the
Herbert River. When first examined, he stated glibly enough that he
had been engaged for three yams, and understood he was to remain
for three years to work in a sugar plantation. About a week afterwards
he came forward with another boy, said he had been frightened by
Mr. Cowley, and that he had been told he was only to work for
three moons or months, and contradicted his former evidence. Now
in Townsville it was openly asserted that boys had been tampered
with and instructed what to say before the Commission ; but it must be
admitted that proofs of such assertions seem to be entirely lacking.
Nevertheless, it seemed a strange thing for a South Sea Islander to
voluntarily come forward and make any statement whatsoever, and I
thought that I would hear what he had got to say on the subject a third
time. Accordingly I found him out one evening, and questioned him.
The date was 4th July, and the next morning he was going to be landed
with his countrymen at Grass Island. I told him he was close to his
island, and he would be landed there in the morning, whether he spoke
the truth or told me a lie, for that would make no difference now. He
had seen the other boys landed, and had nothing to be afraid of. I asked
him if he remembered the labour schooner coming to his place, and he
replied that he did. I then asked him how long the captain had told
him he would have to stay in Queensland. He replied three years ; and
in answer to a further question said he understood how long that meant.
On asking him how many moons there were in a year, he said, ' All the
same yam,' and held up all his fingers. I next asked how it was, if he
had been engaged for three years, he told the Commissioners that he
had only been engaged for three months, and he said that Cago, the
missionary boy (one of the interpreters), had gone among them on the
plantation and told the boys that they were to say three months, and

THE DOCTORS STORIES. 397

that then they would all be sent back to their islands with plenty of
trade. He also told me, in reply to questions, that the other boys from
his island understood well that they were to go for three years, and
mentioned especially Cockroach and Dixon, who can both speak Eng-
lish. This boy had a fair knowledge of English before the schooner
came to his island, and said he had been engaged in the beche-de-mer
fishery and had been to Cooktown. The above, though divested of its
pigeon English and made intelligible, is a true and faithful report of the
brief conversation I held with Sandrly, who had no motive to tell me
anything that was untrue. I subsequently, in company with another
representative of the Press, spoke to two or three other boys, who each
had the same tale of missionary boys coming among them and instruct-
ing or advising them what to say.

Now, let my reader compare this story about Sandfly
having been coached by Cago the interpreter, previous
to examination before the Royal Commission, with Mr.
Kinnaird Rose's letter in "The Courier," and my remarks
thereon, in the last chapter.

We remained only an hour or two at Teste I. to land
interpreters. We then steamed away for Port Moresby,
passing out into the open ocean about a mile from
Suckling Reef, on its north-western side.

That evening I heard the doctor giving an account of
some experiences of his in Teste I.

On our first visit there, he had gone ashore in the
officials' boat While on shore he had purchased some
small article of native manufacture — a comb, I think—
and paid for it. Somehow or other the native vendor
managed to retain the article, as well as the " trade "
given for it. When the Victoria paid her second visit,
this native, no doubt thinking it better to deliver up the
article than to be punished for theft, met the doctor as
he landed, and delivered up his plunder. The doctor
said he looked upon this incident as a proof of the good
effects of missionary teaching, and that he should send
an account of it to some Glasgow paper.

Then he told another story.

An old man and a girl — supposed to be father and

398 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

daughter — had met him near the boat, and by words and
signs, invited him to visit their house, at the back of the
village. He went with them ; but, when the old man
demanded " plenty tobacco," and the girl — well — made,
love to him, he fled the scene, at least he said so. I
asked him if he would retail this story, also, to his
Glasgow paper, as the outcome of missionary teaching !

POLYNESIAN WOMEN IN QUEENSLAND.

But one or two bystanders burst out laughing, and the
doctor retired to his berth without giving me a civil
answer. I suspect he omitted to mention that incident
in his correspondence !

At Port Moresby we obtained some supplies from Mr.
Goldie's store, and then steamed away for Brisbane, on
July 13. A few hours after leaving, it was found that the
old Vic made such slow progress, with the wind and sea

END OF THE CRUISE. 399

on the port bow, that there was a probability of our
eating all our provisions before we arrived at Brisbane.
So the ship was kept away for Townsville, where we
anchored on the evening of the sixteenth, arriving at
Brisbane on the twenty-third. After one night there we
went on to Sydney, where we moored at the A.S.N. Co.'s
wharf on July 27. Next day I made my report, got my
" cheque," and said good-bye to the old Vic.

CHAPTER XXIV.

VOYAGE OF THE ARIEL, 1 888.

I am debarred — The Griffith Ministry — Change of Government
— Free once more — The Ariel — I sail for tlie New Hebrides

— Waisori — White residents — The Lulu — The Windward
Ho. — A woman swims off to recruit — FrencJi landmarks —
French methods of recruiting — Coasting Espiritu Santo —
Making for the Solomons — Tlie chief, Faulanga — Port
Adams — An uncertain recruit — Sinnarango — Good fortune
of the Meg Merrilies — Porpoise teeth — Fortified islets — A
wife a purchasable commodity — Billy Fidei — His two wives

— The Lord Hozue Is. — A coral atoll— James Roberts — His
escape from the Carolines — An adventurous voyage — King

Wilan — A reception at Court — Native houses — Manners and
customs — Royal appetites — The Tasman Is. — A nother kingly
glutton — A meal for a recruit! — The Floridas — Billy
Mahualla — Tavaniakia — Tlirough the Maramasiki Passage
— Malaria — A very friendly chief- — Big Joe — Hostile tribes —
Vessels attacked — Deep Bay — The crew prostrated by ma-
larial fever — Coasting Malavta — Kwaisulia, a Malayta
chief — Manoba I. — The G. A. scoffs at danger — A treacherous
envoy — The mates story — Hoiv the G.A. landed — A yell ! —
The mate tn the rescue ! — Driven back — -How Joe jumped out
of his trousers — The G.A. killed — Shall we avenge him ? —
Judge Gorry's words — To sea — Natives put a price on white
men's heads — Back at Bundaberg — An inquiry — Published
in the papers — Disappearance of my chief witness.

FOR three years after my trip in the Victoria, I had no
connection with the labour trade. In common with
other masters, crews, and Government agents, who had
brought boys from New Guinea or the neighbouring
islands, I was debarred from employment in it, by the
Griffith Ministry. This I had been told by various

APPOINTED TO THE "ARIEL." 401

officials, though I had not put it to the proof by making
application for a licence.

I was informed at Townsville, in April, 1888, that my
name was no longer included in the lists of the pro-
scribed, which were furnished to the immigration officers
at the various ports. I wrote, therefore, to the head office
in Brisbane, and on my arrival in Sydney received an
answer that had been awaiting me there for more than a
fortnight. By this I was informed, in a very curt and
decisive manner, that I was debarred from employment
in the labour trade. Still, I cherished great hope of re-
turning to it, and that before long. Election times were
drawing nigh ! and the Griffith party would have to take
a back seat, for a time at least.

At the end of June, the Pendle Hill, an intercolonial
trader I had been in command of, was sold, and I was
thrown out of employment thereby. I then made
another application to the Queensland Immigration
Department. A new Ministry had just been formed ;
so the reply I now got was to the effect that my name
had been removed from the list of persons debarred
from employment in the labour trade. All I had to do,
therefore, was to get a ship, and then apply for my licence.

I had not long to wait, and, in the meantime, I went
to Brisbane, where I stayed about a week. I was then
offered, and accepted, the command of the Ariel brigan-
tine, which was lying in the port of Bundaberg. Leav-
ing Brisbane in a little coasting steamer, the Lady Jlfus-
grave, I went thither and joined my ship on July 19.

The Ariel had previously commenced a voyage to
the New Hebrides, but, before reaching the islands, she
had to return to Queensland, her G.A., Mr. Murray,
having committed suicide on board of her, from the

O

effects of drink. Captain Lewis, my predecessor, was
debarred from holding a command, in consequence, 1
believe, of having allowed the G.A. to indulge in his
fatal weakness.

402 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The requisite licences for the voyage arrived from
Brisbane on July 26. Next day, the Ariel was towed
down the river Burnett, discharged the pilot at the
Heads, and put to sea by 2 p.m. My G.A. was Mr.
Armstrong, and I had thirty-five men and one woman on
board, return islanders.

After a most unusual course of variable winds and
weather, I sighted Aneiteum I. on August 10. Pass-
ing it during the night, I hove to, early in the morning,
off the south-east coast of Tanna I.

Port Resolution, or Waisori, was the first place I
visited. There I hove to close to the mouth of the
harbour, sending the boats ashore to engage boatmen
for the round trip. If it should prove necessary to take
them to Queensland, they were to be discharged on the
vessel's return to the island, on her next voyage. Such
an arrangement was usual.

During the absence of my boats, I was visited by two
copra traders — Larresky, of Port Resolution, and An-
derson, a resident on the coast about two miles north of
the port. Besides these, there were two other traders
on the island — Major W. A. Carter, late of the East
Indian service, who lived a short distance from Ander-
son's station, and Antonio Francisco, at Waisissi. The
Rev. Mr. Watts, a missionary, also resided at Gwamera,
on the south-eastern coast.

I worked all round Tanna I., shipped the boatmen I
required, obtained one recruit, and landed four returns,
with their effects. On the fourteenth and fifteenth four
recruits were engaged, and two returns landed, at
Erromanga I., besides two boatmen from the previous
voyage paid off and landed. Then I squared away
north-westward.

On the sixteenth I visited Pango Bay, Sandwich I.,
paying off and landing two boatmen on Mele islet.

The Lulu, a French schooner, was now in company
with the Ariel. This vessel was painted a very light

A WOMAN SWIMS OFF TO US. 403

slate colour, though perhaps it may have been white
once, and had a dark red stripe round her top sides.
Her boats were also painted red — a pretty close copy of
the Queensland regulation colours.

On the seventeenth the anchor was dropped in Port
Sandwich, Mallicolo I., where a French steamer, Le
Caledonien, was taking in cargo at one of the two trading
stations. Next day, she departed, the schooners Lulu
and Windward Ho arriving. The last flew British
colours. She was owned by the old New Hebrides
trader, Captain MacLeod, but was commanded by a
Frenchman. I wonder what the Board of Trade would
have said about that ?

At dawn, on the morning of the nineteenth, when. I
turned out to get the vessel under way, I found that a
young native woman had swum off during the night
from the eastern shore, and was now on board. Of
course, Mr. Griffith's "cast-iron" regulations had to be
attended to. So, as there was no husband forthcoming,
she was landed again, but, at her own urgent request,
on the other shore. Very probably she got clubbed,
ultimately, for her escapade. Then I got under way,
and, towards evening, anchored again off Champion's
station, on the south-west coast of Ambrym. This was
the place where I had been so nearly shot in 1876,
during my third voyage in the Stanley.

Next morning, the recruiter obtained seven recruits,
apparently run aways from their friends. Weighing an-
chor in the afternoon, I stood over to the south coast
of Mallicolo, dropping anchor next morning in South-
West Bay. There I watered ship, and lay for a couple
of nights without obtaining recruits. In the lagoon, at
the head of the bay, I found part of the wreck of the
Sibyl, which had been driven ashore during the last hur-
ricane season. Then, coasting northward, we passed
two nights at anchor in the west bay of the island.

About this part of Mallicolo, I noticed several of the

404 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

stone landmarks of the French New Hebrides Company,
by which, during the last few years, all the best land
throughout the group — chiefly water frontages — has been
bought from the natives. The Company's steamer,
Le Caledonien, had taken seventeen natives to Noumea,
two or three weeks previous to my visit. Snider rifles
are the principal pay the natives receive, with a little
ammunition. When Sniders are given to the friends of
recruits, they themselves receive no pay until the " pre-
sent " has been worked out. Many of these boys, it is
said, are persuaded to go to Sydney from Noumea, and
take service there, for which their late French masters
receive a money equivalent as high as £ 10 per head.
This information was gleaned from a French recruiter.

From Mallicolo I. we ran down to Cape Lisburne,
Espiritu Santo I., and landed a return about a mile north
of it. Keeping along that coast, the trade-wind fell light
and baffling under the land. Consequently, it was not
until the following forenoon that I got to the northern
end of the island, and felt the wind again, steady and
fresh enough to make my little craft jump in a most
lively manner. Soon I had to shorten sail, and it was
as much as the Ariel could do to hold her own at times.
However, by next morning, August 28, I got into
smoother water, under the lee of Vanua Lava I., where
I anchored off the " Double Waterfall." Here we filled
up all the water-tanks and cut a sufficiency of firewood.
All the New Hebrides returns had now been landed,
those still on board being natives of the Solomon group,
where I intended to do most of my recruiting. One day
more was spent in ineffectual attempts to obtain recruits,
and then I weighed anchor.

The next two days were unpleasant — the wind being
variable, with frequent rain and squalls. As we neared
the Solomons the weather became better, and by day-
light on September i, I sighted Ulaua, or Contrariete
I. Off this island I hove to, and purchased, by barter,

THE CHIEF, FAULANGA. 405

a couple of boat-loads of small round yams ; but I could
obtain no recruits. During the night I remained hove
to most of the time, and drifted down towards Cape
Zelee, Maramasiki I.

The following morning I picked up Faulanga, a chief,
residing in the neighbourhood of Port Adams. He had
come off to meet us in his canoe, with half a dozen
others. Faulanga was a well-known chief, and, through
policy, a friend to the white man. He acted as a
" crimp " for recruits in his neighbourhood. He stayed
on board for awhile, until I got close into the land at
Saa, a few miles north, when he and his men left us and
went home.

Between Saa and Port Adams I landed six returns,
with their boxes. Then I ran down to Port Adams,
where I anchored close under the lee of Elizabeth I., or
Tettava. While entering the port between Elizabeth
and Mary Is., I passed the schooner Saucy Lass, Captain
Gibbs, Mr. Potts, G.A., standing out. She was re-
cruiting for Fiji.

I remained there until the seventh, for the weather
was boisterous and wet. Then I sailed along the coast
northward, with five additional recruits.

The next return to be landed was a man named Nio,
who seemed very uncertain as to where he wished to go
on shore. First, he said Port Adams, where he had
friends. But the temper of these friends had altered in
his absence, so he proposed to land at the north end of
the channel between Maramasiki and Malay ta Is. Then
he " bucked " on that, so I sent him ashore at Ulimburi,
in Double Bay. There, he said, he found his friends all
dead ; upon which he returned on board and offered
himself as a recruit again. I accepted him, though he
would not sign his agreement until we left for the Lord
Howe Is.

Nio's business having been settled so far, I stood
northward, and, in the afternoon of September 9,

406 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

entered a large bay south of Cape Arsacides, where I
anchored some three miles from Diamond Harbour, or
Sinnarango, at which place Mr. Popham, G. A., and some
of the crew of the Young Dick were murdered. There
I sent away the boats, landing a return at Uru, some
miles further south, within the bay.

Next morning I was under way again, coasting north-
ward. I landed one return at Manu, and four at
Sulabau. I then caught a steady south-easterly breeze,
with fine weather, and, by sundown, arrived at the
northern end of the island off Sio Bay, finding the Meg
Merrilies of Fiji, and the Saucy Lass at anchor there.

According to the account of Mr. Delamere, mate of
the first-mentioned vessel, who boarded us after dark, she
had not been out two months, and had eighty-two re-
cruits on board already. Captain Meredith, her master,
afterwards told me that he never missed a chance of
acquiring porpoise teeth ; he was willing to give a pound
for a hundred of them. Eighty to a hundred were con-
sidered sufficient "pay" or present for one recruit in
the Solomons, where porpoise teeth are in great request
and serve for money.

That night we lay becalmed, tossing about on the
south-easterly swell, now and then deluged with rain,
while the ship drifted northward. It was not till the
afternoon of the next day that I was again able to get
close enough to Sio to send the boats in with two re-
turns. In the evening, the Meg Merrilies was close to
me, under way. My old acquaintance, Captain Mere-
dith, came on board the Ariel, and exchanged experi-
ences with me, as well as certain stores. Next day I
landed seven men and one woman at Auki, about twenty
miles south-south-east of Cape Astrolabe, Malayta I.
It is a small harbour, open to the south-west. There
are two " fortified " islets within it.

These fortified islets are, I think, peculiar to Malayta,
and are numerous along the northern coasts. They

FORTIFIED ISLETS. 407

are, originally, sandy reef islets, close to the coast, ele-
vated two or three feet above the level of the highest
tides. Round the edges of the coral foundation of the
islet, walls have been built up of coral blocks, rising
some four feet above the interior surface of the islet.
Every here and there are openings in the wall — which
at a distance resemble embrasures — and into which
canoes can be floated. Once inside, they can be hauled
up safely amongst the low thatched houses, which are
crowded close together beneath the cocoanut trees, with
very narrow footways between them. A low rough
wall, or fence of sticks, divides each islet between
separate communities — the male and the female. The
sexes live apart, although wives are always purchasable,
being regarded as the personal property of the men who
may have bought them.

About noon, on the twelfth, I anchored in North Alite
Bay, some five miles south-east of Auki. This bay is
closely connected with the larger Alite Bay by a narrow
but deep channel. Both bays are protected to seaward,
on west and south, by low, wooded reef islets.

I secured two recruits there. The first, Billy Fidei,
was an old hand. He had previously worked out a three
years' term in Queensland. His two wives followed
him. However, as bigamy is not allowed in Queens-
land, the eldest one, an ugly dame, gave her more
favoured and younger rival a beating with a paddle, in
their canoe, before she could climb on board, where 1
engaged her also as a recruit.

No other recruits offering — the bushmen wanted
Sniders for their men — I sailed next day. Currents and
wind proving unfavourable, I was unable to get to
Coleridge Bay, between Alite and Cape Astrolabe, until
the sixteenth. There I took in supplies of water and
firewood, landed a return, and obtained one recruit. I
had then only three returns left to land, while I had re-
cruited twenty men and one woman — tolerably satisfac-

408 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

tory for seven weeks' work, including the passage from
Queensland.

I had not heard that any labour vessel had lately
visited the Lord Howe Is. on the north. The mate
had been told by a copra trader, during his last voyage,
too, that there was a probability of men being willing to
emigrate from the Tasman Is., which lie some forty
miles still further north.

I sailed from Coleridge Bay on the evening of the
1 9th, and on the 2ist, I sighted the low islets on the
southern side of the Lord Howe, or Leueneuwa group.
This is an immense irregularly shaped atoll, or ring-reef,
studded with a great number of low, wooded islets.
Three or four of the largest of these are permanently
inhabited. The natives are pure Polynesians ; big,
lusty people in appearance, but not nearly such good
workers as the Papuans.

I sailed into the lagoon through a small but deep
passage, on the south-western side, and beat up to the
eastern end, where I anchored close to the largest island,
Leueneuwa. While nearing it, and looking out from
aloft for any appearance of an anchorage, I was rather
surprised to see a cutter-rigged decked boat sailing to-
wards me, with a white man at her helm, and two or
three natives as a crew.

When we had anchored, this boat ranged alongside
of us, and her white steersman boarded the Ariel. He
introduced himself as James Roberts, an Englishman.
He informed us that he had left Ascension or Bonape I.,
one of the Caroline group, in the decked boat alongside,
his only companion being his " wife," a native of one of
the small Ant Is. close to Bonape. The reason he had
left was because he was " wanted " by the Spanish
authorities in the Carolines, for selling firearms to the
natives. According to his own account, he had been
previously employed in the sealing trade, in Behring
Strait. How long he had taksn to come from the Caro-

A RECEPTION AT COURT ! 409

lines, I cannot now say ; but it seems he had had a rough
time of it. Short of provisions and water, and most of
the time without his compass, which had been washed
overboard, he drifted and sailed to Leueneuwa, where
the natives, going out in their canoes, had piloted him
safely into the lagoon.

Roberts had been about three weeks in this island,
and had promised to give his boat to the head chief,
" King" Wilan, whenever he got a chance of a passage
to Australia. He was not without means, for, besides
his boat, he had some hundreds of dollars in cash, and,
so he said, an order on some Australian bank for a larger
amount. A bargain was soon struck between us. For
£IQ Roberts was to have a passage in the Ariel to
Queensland, messing with the hands forward, and sleep-
ing where he could. As for the woman, she elected, so
he said, to remain on the island, and his boat went to
King Wilan.

I afterwards heard that Roberts let drop it was his
intention to return to Leueneuwa, but he never gave me
a hint of it.

After anchoring, the G.A. and I landed and inter-
viewed the king, and also his brother and prime minister,
Kabbi. To them we explained the object of our visit.
Then about twenty of the ladies favoured us with a
dance on an open green space, after which we strolled
through the village ; and, no doubt, the inhabitants con-
sidered us a very inquisitive lot.

Both sexes of the Lord Howe Islanders ornament their
persons profusely with tattooing. The national dress oi
the men consists of a wisp of thin matting round the
loins. The women wear a longer mat wrapped round
the waist, and hanging down to the knees. The women's
heads are shaved close, but the men allow their frizzly
locks to grow long at the sides and back of their heads,
cutting them short on the top. We saw no weapons of
warfare.

4io

THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

It was here that the James Birnie^ brig, was captured
in 1874 ; her crew, with the exception of one white man
and four foreign islanders who escaped, were massacred.
The " dressing down " that the natives received for it
effectually prevented similar outrages afterwards.

Their houses are stoutly built, generally twenty feet or
so in length, with walls five feet high, and lofty peaked
roofs, all thatched with palm or pandanus leaves. The

WOMAN— LORD HOWE I.

floors are of hard beaten earth, often having a layer of
coral gravel on top. Their canoes do not amount to
much. They are rather small, low, and light, and are
only fit for lagoon work. They are balanced by out-
riggers, and the larger ones often spread a triangular
mat sail when before the wind. The dead are buried
in a piece of ground set apart for that purpose, about half
a mile from the village. Each grave is marked by a
heap of stones piled on top. Polygamy is practised, the
king having seven wives ; but the marriage vow is not

KING WAILUA'S APPETITE. 411

very binding. Chastity among grown-up girls is un-
known. The chief articles of food are fish and cocoanuts,
with a little bread-fruit, and very coarse taro. As is the
case on all the low coral islands of the Pacific, the earth
is far from fertile, being only a thin layer of black vege-
table mould.

I engaged four recruits there, and then sailed west-
ward, on the twenty-fourth, to Kala I., on the south-
western side of the atoll. There we lay for a night, but
all 1 obtained was a score of fowls, for each of which I
paid three sticks of tobacco, equivalent to three-halfpence
per fowl. Next morning, as none of the Kala people
were inclined to leave, I ran down north to Palau I.,
where, immediately after anchoring, I engaged three men.

Kala is under the rule of King Wilan, but Palau boasts
of a ruler of its own — King Wailua. The last potentate
visited the ship in the evening, and made an awful feed
of fowl and yams. In fact, the whole of the inhabitants
would have " loafed " on the ship, if they had been en-
couraged. I think that, now and then, Palau suffers
from short commons.

After dark, when the natives had all gone ashore, a
stowaway was discovered, and was recruited. He had
already been to Queensland for one term of service,
during which he was a fellow-labourer of Billy Fidei's.

Next morning the king and his retinue came off — but
too late — for another feed. However, he allowed two
more lads to recruit. I then got under way for the
northern passage, five or six miles westward of Palau.
The wind dropped when I was in the passage, and, the
tide setting- in also, I was obliged to anchor until eleven

O c>

p.m., when, the breeze freshening up, I ran out in the
dark, and steered for the Tasman Is., or Niumango,
another atoll, smaller than the Lord Howe group, though
of similar formation. These I sighted ahead about 6 a.m.
next morning.

My plan of the Tasman atoll, together with some others

412 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

I made of Malay ta harbours and anchorages, has since
been published by the British Hydrographic Department

This atoll much resembles the shape of a human skull.
It extends for about ten miles by seven, with deep water
within, and only three coral patches in the lagoon. The
entrances, about five in number, are all on the west. I
went in by the southernmost of them. Just inside it there
is a dangerous coral patch, close to which I anchored,
until the sun should bear more favourably for me to see
dangers ahead. I afterwards went out by the next pas-
sage, in which there are also patches, though not dangerous
ones, having five and ten fathoms of water on them re-
spectively. That entrance is a double one, being divided
by a small coral reef, awash at low water. Perhaps it
should be considered as two separate entrances.

At noon I weighed anchor again, and beat up the
lagoon to the eastern and largest island, where the only
village on the atoll is situated. The " King," and nearly
all his subjects — some two hundred, I think — were tem-
porarily camped on Lotto, a neighbouring islet, to enjoy
the fishing, which, about this season, was better there
than at Niumango, the capital.

It seemed as though this people, also, were often
afflicted with short commons, for they loafed persistently
on board the ship all the time we lay there. His majesty
never missed coming off at meal-times, though he did not
always get what he wanted ; for, as he refused to allow
his subjects to leave home, he was given to understand
that my rule was, "No boys ! no grub ! "

During the first night we lay there, a boy swam off to
the ship during the middle watch. Just before breakfast
time his majesty arrived, and demanded the boy back.
Luckily, the breakfast table was being prepared in the
cabin, and curried fowl, boiled yam, soft bread, and well-
sweetened tea, purchased the royal permission. The
king got a good square meal. Lord, how he did tuck
in ! And I gained a recruit.

GETTING OUTSIDE OF THE ATOLL.

4'3

On the following morning — just before breakfast, of
course— the king came off again with another recruit,
and got a good meal once more. But he assured me
that no more of the islanders would leave home, so I got
under way, and beat back westward with a very light
wind. This soon dying away, I was obliged to anchor
again before I had gone two miles.

The next two days also were spent in the lagoon, for a
similar reason. It was not until the morning of October 2
that I was able to get outside the atoll, with a rather
light breeze from south. Then I commenced to beat

taJ^fcrf^U&l

'/ -4i/«

back to the southern islands of the Solomon group,
where, on the loth, I landed one of my three remaining
returns. I then worked back to the Florida Is., where
I anchored in the evening in Sandfly Passage, between
the northern and the middle islands. Next day I landed
the last of my return passengers there — a good rid-
dance !

I worked the Floridas without success until the four-
teenth. During the following night I crossed over to
Malayta I., where I first visited Alite Bay to replenish
my stock of fresh water and firewood. As I had ex-
pected, I could get no recruits there; but, luckily, I made

414 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the acquaintance of Billy Mahualla, a minor chief of
Mgwai-Fau, one of the three fortified islets in the har-
bour. Billy was a travelled " nig," and had visited
Queensland. At some previous period of his life he had
committed an offence which had caused him to leave
home. Then he became acquainted with the tribes on
the southern coast, and all through the narrow channel
which divides Malayta from Maramasiki I. he was now
commonly called Okarrowa. He offered his services as
interpreter for a trip round Malayta, and I accepted the
offer. His price was to be a box of tobacco for the trip.
He indicated one weighing eighty-four pounds, and
earned it well.

I weighed anchor and left Alite on the i8th. As
Billy had not much hope of getting men on that side of
the island, I worked to windward. The first place visited
was Tavaniahia, on the western coast of Maramasiki,
since called Ariel Harbour. It is a very small anchorage,
suitable only for the smallest decked craft, in fact, but
tolerably well sheltered. I was obliged to moor the ship
there, close to the entrance, with an anchor ahead, upon
the reef nearly, and warps astern to the mainland. By
warping further in to the southward, however, I might
have got bare room to swing in with a short scope of
cable, in seven fathoms.

At this place I engaged two men, one of whom was
accompanied by his wife. On the 23rd I unmoored, and,
running back five or six miles northward, entered the
Maramasiki Passage at its southern end. Billy, my in-
terpreter, assured me that he knew the passage well, and
could take the Ariel safely through it with the southerly
wind then blowing, although it had never yet been navi-
gated by any vessel of her size. He proved a good
pilot, and directed me how to get safely through the
whole length of the Passage.

For a distance of about twelve miles the Passage is,
in many places, not more than half a cable broad. The

A VERY FRIENDLY CHIEF. 415

depth of water varies excessively. Near the southern
mouth I got no bottom with the lead at twenty fathoms,
towards the other end I found it at two and a half. The
banks are thickly lined with mangroves. Here and
there occur openings — "arms" — leading to the foot of
the hills that fall back from the main channel. The
native villages are built well up on these hills, for the
air of the Passage is malarious and unhealthy. Of this
we had proof, for, shortly after clearing the Passage,
several of my crew and recruits suffered for several days
from malarial poisoning. The same thing occurred when
I afterwards traversed the Passage in the Borough Belle.

We spent the four following nights at anchor in the
Half-way Reach. There I picked up five recruits, and
another after I moved the ship into the estuary, who
belonged to the Passage, however.

Sunima, chief of the village of Arlua, seemed unusu-
ally friendly. He passed two nights on board, but his
followers were sent ashore at sundown. During the day-
time I allowed Sunima on the half-poop deck, which was
strictly tabooed to the crowd. Two New Hebrideans
were placed on guard there, while one of the crew stood
under arms forward. All of us wore our revolvers
loaded, for there was no telling but what these savages
might prove treacherous. If they had been so disposed,
and had made a sudden rush, we should have been over-
whelmed if not armed. It was dangerous to let them
come on board at all, but I was obliged to humour them
with a view to getting recruits.

The last day we were there I had a visit from Big Joe,
chief of Bullahah, a coast village about a mile south of
the Passage. This potentate had travelled. He had
been to the colonies, spoke English, and was friendly to
white men. He advised me to be very careful in my
dealings with the natives along the Passage. He said
they would not let slip any opportunity that offered of
taking a ship and killing all her people. Sunima's own

416 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

tribe were not hostile. The Torrosi tribe, under chiefs
Kokki and Lahu, inhabiting the Aimaia arm, near our
anchorage, had, only three weeks before, attacked the
boat of a Fijian ketch, without provocation. Some
months previous to that, they had also attacked the boats
of another vessel, but were beaten off.

While Big Joe was on board, a messenger arrived in a
canoe from Kokki, the Torrosi chief, who wished to
present me with a pig and some taro. He probably
expected I should visit him; but, following Big Joe's
advice, I declined to do so.

Next morning I got under way, and ran through the
northern half of the Narrows. Emerging thence into
the broader reef and islet-studded waters of the estuary,
I anchored on the Flats in two and a half fathoms. There
I lay quietly at anchor until the morning of the thirty-
first, when, with a light southerly breeze, I stood north-
ward along the Flats as far as Orlu I., a distance of not
more than three miles.

The estuary occupied our attention until the morning
of November 3. Then, getting under way, I ran north-
ward and anchored again off Takataka, a very convenient
watering-place and good anchorage in Deep Bay, off the
northern mouth of the Maramasiki Passage.

There the Ariel lay from the forenoon of November 3
until the 9th. Two-thirds of the crew, white and coloured,
and several recruits, were on the sick-list. Their
ailment was a kind of colic, which at first I feared was
cholera, and it no doubt resulted from malarial poison
contracted in the Passage. My recruit list then num-
bered fifty, two of whom were women.

I worked on from Deep Bay along the whole of the
north-eastern coast of Malay ta I. My anchorages were
at Unter I., Mannakwoi, Ulimburi, Panchinchi, Sinna-
rango, Uru, Kwakwaru, Attar, and Uras. The last I
reached on December 5, having then on board seventy-
three male and two female recruits.

THE CHIEF, KWAISULIA.

417

It was at Uras that John Renton was rescued in 1875,
as I mentioned in a former chapter. He had lived
among the natives for several years, while Kabbau was
chief of this part of the coast, his residence being on the
small fortified islet named Attargeggei, close to Uras.
One of Kabbau's best warriors, Kwaisulia, had succeeded
him as head chief, and it was not long before he made
his appearance on board with a number of his followers.

Kwaisulia was and is a good specimen of the Malayta
people, and has always shown himself friendly towards

AN ATTAR HELLE — MALAYTA I.

white men. He and his men were allowed to roam about
the Ariel as they pleased. Natives of the neighbouring
tribes, living only a couple of miles off on either side of
Uras, are not to be trusted, however.

While I was working down this coast from the estuary,
the G.A., the mate, who was also recruiter, and I, fre-
quently speculated as to the possibility or otherwise of
safely obtaining recruits from Manoba. This is a long
low reef island, six or seven miles northward of Uras.
It lies about half a mile from the mainland, but is con-
nected with it by a coral reef.

Some experience of the Manoba people had taught me
that they were not to be trusted. In truth, they had

E E

418 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

always borne a bad reputation. So I told both the G. A.
and the mate to be very careful if they went there. The
G.A., however, held a contrary opinion to mine. Hav-
ing landed returns at Manoba on a previous voyage in
the Helena, he rather pooh-poohed my counsel, being
sure that he would be received in a most friendly
manner. The sequel proved I was right, unhappily.

Two recruits, the last engaged, were obtained shortly
after I anchored. Next day the two boats worked along
the coast northward ; but I had no idea that they
would get as far as Manoba. Shortly before they left
in the forenoon, a canoe came alongside. In her was a
man, afterwards stated to be Lakkida, once a boatman in
the Fearless, and an actor in what was to occur. He
said that the chief of the village of Warlo had a bad leg,
and wanted some "blue water" (blue-stone). None of us
then knew that Warlo lay at the south end of Manoba.
Accordingly, the G.A. took with him a bottle containing
blue-stone in solution. The boats returned about i p.m.,
but without the G.A., and the mate reported as follows.

The two boats — one in charge of the mate, and the
other containing the G.A. — pulled along the coast, pass-
ing Fulafau islet, and then diverging to Warlo, on the
south of Manoba. The G. A.'s boat arrived first, and
was backed in upon the beach, where were several men,
but no women, to receive them — a most significant sign
— before the mate could get within speaking distance.
Joe Enau, one of the boatmen, a native of Sio, a few
miles west, carried the G.A. ashore on his back over
the shallow water. Joe warned him not to venture away
from the boat, but the G.A. only laughed at him.
Calling on Joe to follow him, he ran up the narrow sandy
strip of beach, with the bottle of medicine in his hand.
He had his revolver in his belt, but had left his Win-
chester rifle in the boat. Joe followed reluctantly at a
distance.

A minute or two passed, and then the mate — who had

MURDER OF MR. ARMSTRONG, G.A. 419

just backed his boat in to the beach, from which all the
natives had disappeared — heard a long-drawn, blood-
curdling yell coming from the village amongst the trees,
about a hundred yards from the boats. Then Joe ap-
peared again, running for the boats, minus two- thirds of
his clothing.

Jumping ashore with his rifle, the mate called on his
men to follow him to the G.A.'s rescue. Before he had
gone twenty yards the natives appeared in force, oblig-
ing him to retreat, which he did by wading and pushing
the boats off through the shallow water, for the tide was
falling fast, while arrows and spears fell thickly around
them. Luckily none were hit, and as soon as deeper
water was attained, out of reach of bullet or arrow, a
council was held, and Joe stated what he had seen.

He had followed the G.A., who was some twenty
yards ahead of him, until just within the outskirts of the
timber, close to the village. Some half a dozen men
were close to the G.A., beside a canoe-house or shed.
He saw several men jump out from behind a house in
the village, seize the G.A., pinning his arms to his sides,
while others struck him with their tomahawks. The
G.A. shouted, " Look out! " and then Joe saw him fall.
Joe then turned and made for the boats, but the natives
near by attacked him also. According to his own
account, he fairly jumped out of his trousers, which one
of his assailants had got hold of, while making play with
his sheath-knife. When he returned, he had certainly
left his indispensables behind him !

There could be no doubt that the G.A. was dead.
Malay ta warriors never make prisoners. Joe had seen
the tomahawks cut into the back of his neck. So the
boats were pulled back to the ship.

Kwaisulia was on board when the boats came along-
side, and the sad news was made known. He immedi-
ately proposed to muster his men. and, in conjunction
with my crew, attack Manoba, and avenge the death of

420 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

the G.A. Of course this would not do. I remembered
Judge Gorry's words to Captain Kilgour, in consequence
of his having defended himself, while removing his em-
ployer's boat from the beach of Aoba I. after the murder
of Renton : —

" If I had had proof of the death of a single native, I
would have hanged you, sir ! hanged you ! "

The G.A. was dead without a doubt, and the law for-
bade me to interfere further. All I could do was to
leave the matter to the authorities ; for I was in a British
Protectorate, worse luck !

The Fearless, I knew, was on the coast, for I had
spoken her and the Archimedes at Kwakwaru ; but her
presence could do no good. So after waiting till even-
ing, to see if anything fresh turned up, I weighed anchor
and put to sea. I was unwilling to pass another night at
Uras, for half my recruits were from Malayta I., and it
was quite on the cards that, fearful of vengeance being
wreaked on them, they might swim ashore in the dark.

Coasting along the shore, I ran past Warlo, which ap-
peared lifeless and deserted. Rounding the north end
of Malayta the same night, I anchored in Alite Bay on
the eighth, where I paid off and discharged Billy Mahu-
alla, and took in wood and water.

After my return to Queensland, I learned that the
Fearless arrived at Uras the day after my departure.
During the night following, according to the natives, a
large canoe left Manoba, conveying the head of the mur-
dered man to Sinnarango, there to secure a reward which
had been offered by the inhabitants of that place for
white men's heads.

For, in the affair with the schooner Yoiing Dick, when
Mr. Popham, G.A., and several of her crew were trea-
cherously murdered, the vessel itself being nearly cap-
tured, a score or more of the assailants were killed. The
relatives of these subsequently offered a considerable
amount in native shell-money for the heads of Europeans,

THE ENQUIRY AT BUNDABERG. 421

by way of retaliation. The action of H.M.S. Diamond,
which vessel carried out the usual farce of cutting: down

o

cocoanut trees and destroying houses and canoes, only
made matters worse. It served merely to exasperate
the savages still more.

I left Alite Bay on December 9, and anchored off the
Burnett Heads after dark on the 22nd. The following
afternoon I moored the ship in the river at Bundaberg.

When I was consulting with the mate in the cabin of

o

the Ariel at Uras, just after he had arrived on board
from Manoba, as to which was the best course to take —
whether to remain where we were, or to put to sea be-
fore half of our recruits deserted — I remember saying to
him, " No matter what I do, somebody is sure to find
fault with me ! " And I was correct in my conjecture.

The sub- immigration agent at Bundaberg was in-
structed to hold an inquiry into the circumstances attend-
ing the death of my late G. A. In accordance therewith,
he had interviews at different times with each man of
my crew, as well as with me. He had also access to the
ship's official log. In this were the reports of the mate
and the boatman, Joe Enau, which I had taken down, and
which were signed by the two men in the presence of
all hands at Uras. These interviews were strictly pri-
vate, no person being present besides the sub-immigra-
tion agent and the man under examination.

Of course this was supposed to be a private inquiry,
instituted for the purpose of ascertaining if there was any
need of a formal one being held before the police magis-
trate. However, the sub-immigration agent wofully
exceeded his powers. After he had interviewed Joe
Enau, and before his report to his superiors in Brisbane
had left Bundaberg, he furnished one of the local papers
with the whole story, which was published next morning.
His opinion was also published. He had arrived at the
conclusion that there was no legal proof of the man's
death, and that by leaving Uras before I had such

422 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

proof, I had displayed "an entire disregard for the value
of a human life." He also said that Joe Enau denied
that he had witnessed the murder.

Immediately after his examination, Joe Enau disap-
peared, and although hunted for, could not be found. It
still remains a mystery to me why and how he disappeared
so quickly. In the inquiry held before the police magis-
trate at Bundaberg in February following, I wanted Joe's
evidence most particularly. Had he been there to give
it, I hardly think he would have "gone back" on what
he told the mate in the boat just after they had retreated
from the beach at Warlo, and which he had repeated to
me in the cabin of the Ariel in the presence of the crew.

However, Joe did turn up eventually at Mackay,
where he tried to get engaged as a boatman on board
the Fearless. He was arrested, but the inquiry was then
over, and after a very short detention in the " lock-up,"
he was released ; and so the matter dropped. By then
I had gone to Rockhampton, where I was engaged in a
mining venture ; so I had other things to attend to, or
else it is certain I should have made a stir in the matter.

'•^•.•'•^gSim

A HEAD-COFFIN.

CHAPTER XXV.

VOYAGE OF THE BOROUGH BELLE,

Incidents — Kwaisulicfs attack on Manoba — H.M.S. Royalist
there — Captain Brodie at the Lord Howe Is. — Malayta
natives attack the Savo — Wrecks — Kwaisulia rescues tJie
Fearless — The Maria threatened — / sail with the Borough
Belle — Sick returns — A leaky ship — "Hammering" round
Neiv Caledonia — Presbyterian converts — Our invalids —
Reputation of the Borough Belle — An accident — / shoot a
man — Trapped at Mboli — A new channel — Going through
with the tide — Lying idle — Working out — Waists Harbour
— Reef islands — Wairokai — In the lagoons — Uhu — Secure
from the storm — At Waidaia — The Lochiel — Murders —
Escape of the Meg Merrilies — Marau Sound — An unknown
wreck — Massacre at San Christoval — / return to Mackay
— My last voyage ended — A retrospect — British arms intro-
duced into the islands by French and Germans — Stoppage of
the Queensland Polynesian labour traffic — My view of it —
Finis.

AFTER leaving the Ariel, at the close of 1888, I was
absent from salt water until September, 1890. During
this interval there happened several incidents in con-
nection with the labour trade that I will briefly note.

Soon after I left Uras, with the Ariel, the chief
Kwaisulia mustered his forces and attacked Manoba I.
Five of the Manoba warriors were killed, among them
being the leader of the party which had murdered
Mr. Armstrong, my late G.A. During 1889, H.M.S.
Royalist was sent to the island. Her commander dis-
patched the usual warning to the natives to send their
women and children away, and then shelled the island.
Little damage was done, and no one hurt ; the inhabi-
tants enjoying the " fireworks " from a safe distance.

About the same time, Captain Brodie, master of an
island trader sailing out of Sydney, visited the Lord

424 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

Howe Is., as had been his wont for some years. He
was ordered to leave the group, by the new German
authorities. Meanwhile, German vessels were trading
without stint among the islands under British protection.

During 1889, too, the Savo, a little trading schooner,
anchored in Waisissi Harbour, Malayta I. Natives
were allowed on board to trade, and they made a sudden
attack upon the crew. The mate, and Mr. Cooper, a
trader from Marau Sound, Guadalcanar I., were cut
down by tomahawks. Captain Keating was badly
wounded, but, contriving to get into the cabin, opened
fire on his assailants from its shelter, and finally drove
them out of the ship. Several of the Kanaka crew
were killed or wounded, and it was only with the
greatest difficulty that Keating and the survivors could
get the vessel under way and out to sea again. The
perpetrators of this outrage were never punished.
Captain Keating subsequently spent eight months in
hospital, at Sydney.

The labour schooner, Northern Belle, Captain Spence,
Mr. McMurdo, G.A., was wrecked about the middle of
March, 1889, at Motalava I., in a hurricane. This was
probably the same storm which did so much damage to
the shipping in the harbour of Apia, Samoa Is., when
H.M.S. Calliope had such a narrow escape.

Towards the end of the year, or very early in 1890,
another labour vessel, the Gael, was wrecked on the
north-eastern coast of Mallicolo I., a little south of Port
Stanley. Not long after, on March 6, another hurri-
cane drove the Eliza Mary, schooner, Captain Campbell,
Mr. McMurdo, G. A. — the same who was wrecked in the
Northern Belle — ashore near the remains of the Gael.

The Fearless, Captain Norman, anchored in Uru
Harbour, Malayta I., about the middle of 1890. The
natives there conceived the idea of capturing her.
Luckily, Kwaisulia, the chief of Uras, thirty miles to
the north, knew that the Uru men meant to have a ship

IN COMMAND OF THE "BOROUGH BELLE;' 425

if a good opportunity presented itself. So he crowded
thirty of his warriors into a war canoe, and arrived
alongside the Fearless just in time to prevent her cap-
ture. He remained with her until she left Uru.

This incident was told me by Mr. Lewis, the mate.
During the same voyage the fearless had visited Port
Adams, Maramasiki. A short time before, the Maria,
brigantine, recruiting for Samoa, under German colours,
had taken over seventy men from that neighbourhood,
giving a Snider and ammunition for each of them. For
some unknown reason, the natives all along the north-
east coasts of Maramasiki and Malay ta Is. as far as Uras,
had become incensed against the crew of the Maria. A
fleet of canoes, coming from various places, assembled to
attack her ; but her crew were too wary, and no fighting
ensued.

Leaving all the gold in Australia to take care of itself,
I threw down the pick and shovel I had been wielding,
and took command of the Borough Belle, in September,
1890. She was a brigantine of 205 tons register, and
was then lying at Mackay, and about to be despatched
on her last recruiting voyage in the Queensland labour
trade. For, by the Act of November 10, 1885, it had
been decreed that " After tke thirty-first day of Decem-
ber, one thousand eight hundred and ninety, no licence to
introduce islanders shall be granted"

From one cause and another, I had to spend more
than a month in port, before my papers arrived from
Brisbane. It was not until the evening of October 21
that the anchor was tripped, and the ship got under way
for the islands.

Besides the G.A., an old friend who had sailed on
three voyages with me before in the same capacity, I
had on board ninety-seven men, six women, and three
children for the New Hebrides, with twelve men for the
Solomons, all return islanders. Some half a do/en of
these were shipped under sick certificates, anil three

426 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

others were decidedly wrong in the upper storey. Five
of the sick men died on board ; thus the vessel ac-
quired a bad reputation, which accounted, to a great
extent, for the poor success of the voyage.

Another circumstance materially contributed to deter
natives from engaging with me. The ship leaked, and,
when plunging into a head sea — especially on the port
tack — the " deluge " pump had to be kept going pretty
frequently. This was not so much to be wondered at,
for the vessel's copper sheathing, as well as her caulking,
was in a bad state, being nearly five years old. During
the voyage, flakes of the copper peeled off here and
there, so that the bottom was as ragged as the trunk of
an old ti-tree, diminishing her speed considerably — and
she never was a clipper.

I left Mackay with the last of the westerly winter
winds, which carried me about half-way across to New
Caledonia. Then I encountered the trade coming up
fresh and squally from south-east. This raised a pretty
"jump" of a head-sea, making the old craft pitch bows
under, and necessitating constant use of the " deluge ''
pump. As it was not safe to press the ship, her pro-
gress was slow, and after a week's buffeting, my stock
of firewood and water got to a very low ebb.

On November 3, I anchored in Port Uarai, on the
south-west coast of New Caledonia. I lay there four
days, filling up my tanks and wood-locker, while a stiff
breeze, almost amounting to a gale, blew outside from
south-east. Then came another "hammering" round
the southern point of the island, and it was not until
November 15 that I landed the first of my returns on
the south coast of Tanna I. Thence I passed through
the whole length of the New Hebrides group, gradually
dropping my passengers at their various homes on the
islands, as we passed them going northward.

At Havannah Harbour, Sandwich I., I fell in with
H.M.S. Dart, Commander Fredericks, and the Truga-

PRESBYTERIAN CONVERTS. 427

nini, a Sydney steamer. She was subsidized by the
Presbyterian New Hebrides Mission, for the conveyance
of missionaries and their stores to and fro.

The last two of my New Hebridean " returns" were
landed at Ureparapara, in the extreme north of the
group. Then, after working Vanua Lava and Meralaba
Is. for recruits, I took my departure for the Solomons
on December 18, with eleven returns and fourteen re-
cruits on board, four of the last being women.

All the recruits, with the exception of one man, who
was recruited at Havannah Harbour, were converts of
the Presbyterian Mission. For some three months after
their engagement, one of them used to officiate as
teacher or minister, conducting morning and evening
worship, and Sunday services. By the end of that time,
however, these religious observances were neglected.

o o

A nameless disease had broken out among the congrega-
tion, and the teacher seems to have been the one who
had introduced it.

Upon our arrival at Mackay, three of these Presby-
terian saints — the teacher, another man, and a woman-
were pronounced by the medical inspector to be unfit
for plantation work. So my owners were put to the
expense of doctoring and sending them home again.

Besides the Dart and the Truganini, 1 spoke or
sighted some half a dozen other vessels, British and
French, and one German schooner recruiting in the
group. As usual, the French and Germans were trading
away Snider rifles to the natives, of British pattern too.

1 ran across to the Solomons from Meralaba with a
rather light and variable easterly wind. 1 first visited
San Christoval I., then Malay ta, again passing through
the Maramasiki Passage. Then I called at the Floridas,
Savo, and the western coast of Guadalcanar, landing my
returns, but not delaying much to seek for recruits. 1
had found that I must get rid of the former as quickly
as possible. Five out of the six men who were ill when

428 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

shipped at Mackay died on the passage. The remain-
ing invalid, a Florida man, had very little life left in him
when he was landed. At every place where we hove to
or anchored, the natives shunned us as a " sick " ship.
At two different places, natives in their canoes alongside
told me that if men went in my ship, " By-and-by he
dead ! " Travelling canoes spread the news about, and
before I left the group the reputation of the Borough
Belle had been irretrievably ruined.

A most lamentable accident also occurred while we
were in the estuary of the Maramasiki Passage, which did
not tend to improve matters, nor to lighten our feelings.

I had been overhauling and cleaning my revolver,
preparatory to a trip to one of the islets, and, having
loaded the chambers, fired them off over the side to
make sure the weapon was in thoroughly serviceable
order. One of the recruits, a Meralaba man, whose
wife was on board, had been watching my proceedings.
Just as I pulled the trigger, unaware of his vicinity, he
suddenly moved in front of me, and received a ball in
his breast.

Even now, it seems incredible to me how such an
accident could have occurred — but the fact remains that
it did. The evidence of the crew, who witnessed it,
shows it was solely due to the man's own movement.
The poor fellow died in less than an hour after. His
wife attended on him to the last, but seemed to take his
death very coolly. She was the woman I have referred
to, who had to be returned home on account of her being
diseased.

At Mboli, on the north-east of Florida I., I was
fairly trapped by the weather. I anchored there in a
small bay, the northern mouth of a narrow channel,
similar to the Maramasiki Passage, separating the middle
from the southern island, on February i. This bay is
open to the north. The day after I anchored, a strong
breeze blew right into the harbour, raising such a sea,

TRAPPED AT MBOLL 429

especially when the tide ran out, that I was kept a
prisoner for a week with two anchors down. At the
end of that time, seeing no signs of a change of wind, or
weather, I hove up my anchors, and, with the assistance
of the kedge, to cant the ship, there being very little
room, I headed her for the narrow "passage" between
the two islands. Where it debouches into the little bay
or estuary I had been anchored in, this is divided by a

MBOLI HARBOUR, FLORIDA IS.

reef into two very narrow but deep channels, one on
each side of the reef. I steered through the western of
these, anchoring as soon as I was clear of the reef.
Even there, I had barely room to swing at a single
anchor.

Previous to this, as I was told by the natives of the
village and mission station near my anchorage, no vessel
anything like so large as the Borough Belle had passed
through this channel, with the exception of the Southern
Cross, the mission vessel, which was an auxiliary screw
steamer, and she had done it under steam.

430 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

The wind was now fair for the general direction of
the passage, as far as Port Purvis at the other end ; and
although I had no chart of the place, I judged that, if
there was water enough for the steamer, there would be
enough for the Borough Belle. I trusted a good deal to
the tide, also, and eventually owed more to it than to the
wind for getting through. Next morning I got under
way, and went about a mile with the wind. Then I had
to anchor for a few hours, and wait for the afternoon tide.

The breadth of the channel does not exceed two ship
lengths in many places, so beating was impossible. We
drove through as soon as the tide was at its full strength,
going about three knots an hour, with the boats towing
ahead to keep her clear of the banks. Only once, a
sweep of the current round a sharp bend drove the ship
against the mangroves lining the shores ; but this delayed
us only about an hour, while the kedge was rdn out and
hauled upon.

By sundown, I anchored about a mile from Port Purvis
and five from Mboli. Next morning, I reached a safe
land-locked anchorage at the head of the port, a spacious
well-sheltered harbour on the south-western coast, about
three miles long by one mile at its widest part. The
western entrance is certainly very narrow, but, with the
wind about nor'- nor'- west, was sheltered in part from any
heavy sea by reefs and islets outside. I lay there until
the 1 8th, for the weather was too boisterous to allow me
to beat out against the sea then rolling in.

The worst of it was that all this time went for nothing.
Not a recruit did I obtain, and very little native food-
yams or taro — although the natives were most friendly.
Even the mission teachers evinced no objection to visit
the ship, begging for pipes and tobacco, although they
had nothing to give in exchange. I have invariably
found, that in the New Hebrides and Solomon groups,
the so-called " Christian " natives cultivate the ground
less than the unconverted savages do. Consequently,

WAISSISSI HARBOUR. 431

they have less to barter, and are more liable to famine
in bad seasons, when there are droughts or hurricanes.

At length, on the i8th, the weather cleared up ; a
steady north-westerly breeze sprang up, and there was
less sea in the entrance to the harbour. I did not like
the job of thrashing the Borough Belle through such a
narrow channel ; but by making some dozen short tacks,
and by venturing, before going about, much nearer to the
reefs on either side than was comfortable, I managed to

o

get her through — as much by good luck as by good man-
agement. Once in the open sea, I ran round the south
coast, passing the labour schooner Helena, from Bunda-
berg, at anchor off Ghieta. During the ensuing night,
I crossed over to Malayta again, where I anchored next
day in Waisissi Harbour, a snug and safe refuge from
all winds and sea, sufficiently roomy for several vessels
of large tonnage, though the entrance is not much wider
than a cable-length.

It was here that, a year or so before, the little schooner
Savo had been nearly taken by the natives, when two of
the three whites on board were killed, and Keating, the
master, was desperately wounded. But the natives were
quiet enough during my stay. I did not allow them on
board, besides which we were well armed and on our
guard.

Waisis, or Waississi Harbour, like all the harbours on
this coast, is enclosed by the mountainous mainland on
the north-east, and to seaward by long, low, coral islands.
These are elevated only three or four feet above high-
water mark, and are thickly covered with lofty trees, of
those species that can stand a good drenching of salt
water occasionally. In strong westerly gales, such as we
were presently to experience, the heavy breakers make
a clean breach over the projecting reef into the forest,
sending their spray clean up to the tree-tops.

We lay at this place until the 24th, and then put to
sea a^ain with six additional recruits. One of these

o

432 THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDERS.

afterwards deserted the ship at Marau Sound, just be-
fore my final departure for Queensland.

My next anchorage was in Wairokai Bay, a land-
locked harbour some four or five miles south-east of
Waisis. This is a roomy bay, but inconveniently deep
in the centre, where it is twenty-three fathoms. It is
well sheltered from the trade-wind, and there is good
anchorage, in moderate weather, off the sandy beach on
the main, facing the entrance. This anchorage, how-
ever, is open to the southward, and when the wind is in
that quarter, the only good shelter is in the south arm,
just land-locked, with eleven fathoms, and room for a
vessel of 200 tons.

Wairokai is the northern ship entrance to a long chain
of five smooth-water, deep lagoons, extending for a dis-
tance of some nineteen miles. These lagoons vary from
a quarter of a mile to nearly one mile in width. They
are enclosed between the mainland and a slightly curved
line of long, low, thickly wooded reef islands, averaging
a hundred yards in width, and two or three miles in
length, and lying parallel with the coast.

These lagoons form magnificent harbours. There are
half a dozen deep, though rather narrow entrances. With
care, a fair wind, the sun astern, and a good mast-head
look-out, a vessel of the size of the Borougk Belle might
be safely navigated from one end to the other. But there
are about six different places where the channel is very
much contracted by reefs or islets. The deepest and
clearest water is almost invariably close to the outer
barrier islets.

We lay there for five nights. On March 4 we
weighed anchor and stood out of the harbour to the
south-east, closely hugging the coast. Three of the
narrow entrances to the lagoons were passed, for they
trended out so much to the westward that I was afraid,
if I took the ship in, I might be entrapped by the wind,
as I was at Florida. But for the last few days my baro-

IN THE UHU LAGOONS. 433

meter had been gradually falling, and the weather had
now assumed a threatening aspect. So, deeming it
better to be safe — even if in a trap — than outside in a
cyclone, I made for the southernmost lagoon entrance,
and, about noon, anchored in eleven fathoms in the small
but safe harbour of Uhu.

The entrance to Uhu is very narrow, and, for a sail-
ing vessel, anything but good, owing to the lofty trees on
either side, which are apt to becalm the sails. In fact,
the only way to get out through it, is to take advantage
of a land breeze in the morning, about sunrise.

As soon as I had anchored, I almost repented ot
having come in, land winds on this coast being rare and
very light at that season. But, after lying there a day,
I became reconciled to the position. For the sky soon
became overcast, whilst the wind came up from the west
in squalls, accompanied by thick rain, my barometer
falling rapidly.

Next day, the squalls and the breeze generally became
stronger, backing towards north. The two following
days it blew a hard gale from north-west, the barometer
falling to 29*46 — far below the point usually indicating an
ordinary north-westerly gale. Luckily, the ship was well
sheltered ; but even then she needed both bowers down,
assisted by the stream anchor.

This breeze over, the wind shifted to south-east for a
few days, with fine weather. Seeing small chance of my
getting safely out of the place through the same passage
I had entered by, one morning early I weighed anchor,
and, with the boats ahead, got